Stock and Clear Soups
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Begin by placing the beef in a stock pot with cold water.
Slowly heat the pot, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface.
Add a coffee cup of cold water to help remove scum and fat.
Once skimming is complete, add the vegetables and herbs.
Simmer
Maintain a simmering heat, tilting the lid to allow steam to escape.
Cook for about four hours, ensuring the meat is thoroughly cooked before removing it.
Remove the vegetables once they are tender.
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
- Provides the meat and collagen that give the stock its body and rich flavour as it simmers.
- Vegetables
- Release sweet and savoury flavour compounds into the liquid during long, gentle simmering.
The step that matters
Skimming the scum as the pot heats. Scum is coagulated protein and fat that, if left in, makes the stock cloudy and greasy. Skimming as it rises keeps the stock clear and clean-tasting.
“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.
More beef stock recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.