Cheap, Clear Gravy-soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the glaze
Select a small, tender shin or leg of beef.
Pour 1 to 2 cups of pale beef broth into a pot with the meat.
Boil briskly until the liquid is well reduced.
Insert a knife into the meat to let the juices escape.
Reduce heat and continue cooking until the liquid darkens to an amber color.
Turn and move the meat frequently to prevent burning.
Finish the soup
Once the desired color is reached, add more boiling broth.
Remove the pot from heat for a few minutes to detach the glaze.
Shake the pot well before returning it to the heat to continue boiling.
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
- Shin or leg of beef
- Provides meat and collagen that give the broth body and richness as it cooks.
- Pale beef broth
- Reduces and darkens as its proteins and sugars brown, building the amber glaze and flavor.
- Boiling broth
- Added later to dissolve the browned glaze from the pot and extend the soup.
The step that matters
Reducing the liquid and browning the glaze. If the heat is too high or the meat is not turned, the glaze can scorch and turn bitter before it reaches an even amber color. Moving the meat and keeping the heat moderate lets the proteins and sugars brown evenly.
“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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