Beef broth is a versatile base for soups, sauces, and marinades. It’s made by simmering meat, bones, herbs, and vegetables in water for hours, clarifying and skimming to remove fat. Homemade broth has a richer flavor and is lower in sodium than packaged alternatives.
Beef broth is a broth flavored with meat. It is used as a base for many soups and can also be used to make sauces and marinades. Many people are familiar with chicken broth, a common form of this food, and it’s also possible to find beef, lamb, and pork, along with stocks of more exotic fish and animals. Stock is an immensely useful thing to have around the house, as it is so versatile and can be used in a huge assortment of recipes.
To make the meat, simmer the browned meat, bones, herbs and mixed vegetables in water for an extended period of time to remove the flavor from the meat and bones. The broth is usually cooked at a low temperature, as high temperatures can burn the broth or make it very frothy. After many hours of cooking, when the meat is falling apart and the broth is richly flavored, one tends to remove the chunks of meat and vegetables and put them back on the fire to clarify.
Clarifying and skimming help remove fat so the beef broth isn’t greasy. Skimming is typically accomplished with a large, wide spoon that catches any fat that floats to the surface; clarification can be achieved by dropping a cracked egg into the broth. As the egg cooks, it will collect impurities, allowing the cook to simply skim the egg and remove any unwanted bits of material.
Once the beef stock has been prepared, it can be frozen for future use, refrigerated for several days, or used immediately as a base for a soup. A wide variety of soups call for beef stock, and cooks can even improvise their own recipes. Small amounts of stock can also be used to warm pots, thin sauces, and flavor an assortment of other foods. Essentially, your imagination is the only limit when making and using beef stock.
Many markets carry stock of packaged meat for cooks who don’t want to make it at home. While this alternative can certainly be beneficial, especially in a hurry, homemade broth tends to have a fuller, richer flavor and is lower in sodium, which is a concern for some consumers. It’s also easier to adjust the flavor of homemade meat stocks with the inclusion or omission of particular ingredients.
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