The Pot-au-feu
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the beef into 2-inch squares.
Place the bones at the bottom of a stock pot and add the meat on top.
Pour in the cold water until it completely covers the meat.
Heat and skim
Heat the pot gradually by placing it by the side of the fire.
Skim off any scum that forms on the surface as it heats.
When nearly boiling, add 1 cup of cold water to reduce boiling and help the scum rise.
Continue to skim off grease and scum until the surface is clear.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Beef
- Supplies the meat that becomes tender and flavours the broth as it simmers.
- Bone
- Releases gelatin and flavour into the broth, giving it body.
- Cold water
- Extracts flavour from the meat and bone as it heats slowly.
The step that matters
Heat gradually and skim. Heating slowly lets scum and fat rise to the surface where they can be removed. Rapid boiling would break them up into the broth, leaving it cloudy and greasy.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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