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To Boil Beef

A simple boiled beef prepared by simmering in water, skimming scum, and optionally replacing salty water after an hour.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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To Boil Beef

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and boil

  1. Cover the beef with water in a pot.

  2. As scum rises, remove it.

  3. If the beef is very salty, after boiling for 1 hour, discard the water and add fresh boiling water.

  4. Boil for an additional 3 hours.

Cool

  1. Let the beef cool in the cooking water to keep it juicy when cold.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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
Is the main component that becomes tender and flavourful through long simmering.
Water
Cooks the beef gently and carries away scum; it also keeps the meat moist as it cools.

The step that matters

Removing scum as it rises. Scum is coagulated protein and impurities that rise to the surface during boiling. Skimming it early keeps the cooking liquid clear and stops it from turning bitter or muddy as the beef simmers for hours.

“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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