Peptonized Beef Tea
Ingredients
Directions
Make the beef infusion
In a stewpan, combine the water, beef, and bicarbonate of soda.
Heat slowly to 140°F (60°C), stirring gently.
Maintain this temperature for about 1 hour.
Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.
Digest and finish
Add the liquor pancreaticus.
Cover the vessel, allowing it to sit in a warm place for about 1 hour.
Strain the mixture.
Bring it to a boil.
Season to taste.
Serve.
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
- Lean beef
- Provides the protein and meaty flavour that the finished tea carries.
- Liquor pancreaticus
- Enzyme preparation that partly breaks down the beef proteins during the warm rest.
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Raises the pH slightly, which helps the beef release its soluble proteins into the water.
The step that matters
Heating slowly to 140°F (60°C). Heating too fast or too hot can toughen and coagulate the meat proteins, trapping flavour and making the liquid cloudy. Holding a gentle, steady temperature lets the proteins dissolve into the water instead.
“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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