How to cook a tasty and light broth

Broth - everyone understands this word. But how to cook it correctly? By the ability to prepare it fragrant, transparent and rich - you can evaluate the skill of the cook.

If we want to cook any soup, first of all we cook it - this is the basis of home cooking. And later we add vegetables and cereals to it. But it can also be used in the preparation of various sauces, cereals, stews and almost all other dishes.

To cook it deliciously, you first need to choose the right meat.

For chicken, it is better to take a young chicken that has not been frozen. From such chicken it will turn out transparent and rich. You won’t be able to cook it tasty from an old hen or chicken. Almost all parts of the carcass are suitable for cooking. There is no single idea about which part is tastier to cook from.

For a rich meat option, it is better to use the freshest or chilled back part, brisket or shoulder, preferably the meat of young bulls. It is the most tender, juicy and non-greasy. In addition, it cooks much faster. For borscht, sauerkraut soup and kharcho soup, you can use fattier meat.

If you cook it from veal, it comes out tender and pleasant to the taste, but not transparent enough. If you cook soups on its base, which are seasoned with tomato paste or various dressings, the soup will turn out delicious.

It is also excellent to use lamb for production. Almost all soups of oriental cuisine are prepared on their basis. There is a worldview that lamb has some “specific” smell, and maybe it does, it’s hard to argue with this view. But you can’t argue with the fact that the broth always comes out tasty, rich and very healthy. In addition, spices are constantly used in oriental cuisine.

How to cook broth correctly

1. Choose the right meat. There is no need to cut it; it must release its juices evenly and slowly. If you cook it from chicken, it is better to remove the skin from it - it can make the dish very greasy.

2. Pour enough water so as not to add more later. The ratio is approximately this: 500-600 grams of meat per 3 liters of water. If the meat is stringy and old, then you need to pour more water, taking into account the fact that the water will boil away.

3. Do not add water during cooking. This deteriorates the taste properties. Also, do not cook for too long, as this will make it darken.

4. Place the meat in a saucepan only in cool water. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, so the meat heats evenly. Cook over low heat without a lid, so that the evaporating water does not drip back into the pan and spoil the taste. It doesn't even cook faster, it simmers. If you cook it over high heat, it will become cloudy, and its taste properties will also be lost.

5. During the cooking process, foam should be removed. We begin to remove the foam when the contents of the pan have not yet begun to boil. We remove it when it boils, and during the entire cooking process. If you do not create this in time, the foam will soon settle to the bottom of the pan in the form of flakes, which will spoil the appearance of the dish. Remove foam adhering to the walls of the pan with a damp cloth.

6. We also remove excess fat throughout the cooking process if we are preparing it for soup. And all the fat, if we cook it transparent. It must be removed with a cardboard towel, because it imparts a nasty greasy taste to the dish.

7. 30-40 minutes before the end of cooking, add vegetables - they will make it more flavorful. Vegetables and herbs are designed to enrich the taste and smell of the dish. Onions, carrots and celery are ideal - this is a traditional “vegetable composition” for meat broth. For a 2-3 liter pan, one medium onion, a small carrot and celery root are enough. But it’s better to add spices (bay leaf, aromatic peppercorns, dried thyme) 7-10 minutes before the end of cooking, otherwise it will taste bitter.

8. Salt about half an hour before cooking.

9. The cooking time over low heat after boiling depends on the size of the piece, the hardness of the meat, the age of the animal and the desired strength of the broth that you want to achieve. So, for example, it will reach readiness in 1-1.5 hours if you use 1 kilogram of meat from young bulls, and in 2.5-3 hours if the meat is from adult beef. From pork - after boiling, cook for 1.5-2.5 hours, from lamb - 1.5-2 hours, from chicken - 1-2 hours.

10. After cooking, you need to remove the meat and vegetables from it and strain it through a fine sieve or a linen napkin soaked in water and wrung dry so that it is transparent and to prevent small fragments of bones from getting into the dish. Vegetables and bones can be thrown away, because they have already given the dish all its own taste and smell, and they no longer have any value

Secrets of making a tasty and light broth

• if you must use frozen meat, then you must be able to defrost it correctly. The normal method is to wash the meat with cool water and place it in a sealed container for 2-3 hours. Do not use a microwave or hot water for this.

• to cook a tasty broth, use a pan with a thick bottom and, if possible, thick walls. This will ensure gradual and even heating. And the meat will provide more of all its beneficial substances.

• it should not boil very much - the movement of water should be barely noticeable. If your stove is difficult to adjust to maintain the appropriate temperature, try placing the pan in an oven preheated to 100–110 degrees.

• it is better to add no more than a pinch of salt to it or not to add any salt at all: when cooking, more water may evaporate from it than you expected, so it runs the risk of being over-salted. It is better to salt the dish that you plan to cook using it.

If you follow all the suggested tips, your broth will turn out impeccable: transparent, aromatic, nutritious and indescribably tasty!

How to cook diet broth from chicken or turkey

Dietary broth is made from chicken or turkey meat. It is useful for unhealthy people or people on a diet.

It must be cooked in a special way. Be sure to remove the skin from the bird, remove all subcutaneous fat, add cool water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then remove the bird from the pan and drain the water. Wash the pan, wipe it dry, put the bird in it, fill it with fresh water and cook using the usual method. With the first water, the remaining fat is virtually completely removed along with the cholesterol it contains, while the necessary protein is retained one hundred percent.

How to cook meat broth correctly

Making meat broth

It's hard to imagine home cooking without delicious and golden meat broth. It is not bad as an independent dish and is the basis for making soups, jellied meats, porridges, meat and vegetable stews, gravies and sauces. Chicken broth is traditionally used to cure a lingering cough, and in order for children to enjoy this “medicine”, the broth must be appetizing and rich. It’s not so difficult to cook a tasty meat broth if you know some tricks and don’t skimp on meat.

How to prepare meat broth: which meat to choose

For beef broth, always choose meat from bulls whose age does not exceed 3 years. Veal cooks quickly and is perfect for broth, as it is healthy, soft, juicy, lean and contains a lot of collagen, which releases gelatin when cooked. The best pork for broth is lean and tender meat from bacon pigs with a very thin layer of fat, and lamb must be fresh and soft. Chicken broth is made from freshly farmed chickens that have been raised without hormones, drugs, and have not been frozen. This is especially important if the broth is intended for baby food or for maintaining strength during illness. Bunny, poultry and its offal, offal, meat bones and smoked meats are excellent for broth. The introduction of various types of meat makes the broth more delicious and rich.

The best pieces for concentrated meat broth

The most delicious broth comes from meat with connective tissue (a set of different and interacting tissues form organs) , which releases gelling substances into the broth, making it rich and thick. Cuttings from different parts of an animal carcass differ in quality and nutritional value, so experienced chefs can find the “professional suitability” of meat at first glance. Beef brisket, ham and neck, pork and lamb shoulder, lamb ribs, shanks, brisket and neck are perfect for broth. Bunny and poultry for broth can be cooked completely or in parts, it all depends on your culinary preferences. It is best to use fresh meat, but it is not always possible to purchase it, so meat from the freezer will do. The main thing is that it is defrosted according to all the rules at room temperature.

How to put meat in water

Perfect if you cook the broth using spring, well, filtered or bottled water, which must be soft. This is one of the secrets of making a delicious broth. So, well-washed pieces of meat are poured with cool water and the pan is placed on the fire. Why do we take specifically cool water and not boiling water? The fact is that when heated slowly, the meat releases extractive substances and saturates the broth with them. If you immerse the meat in hot water, the proteins immediately coagulate, and a film immediately appears on the surface of the meat. It turns out that all the nutrients remain in the pulp. In this case, the meat comes out tender, juicy and fragrant, and the taste of the broth, unfortunately, leaves much to be desired.

For this reason, to create an appetizing broth, the meat is poured only with cool water, and at the same time, you should not cut it into small pieces. The meat must release its juices slowly in order to enrich the taste of the broth. The more water, the less concentrated the broth will be - usually take up to 3 liters for 1 kg of meat with bones. water.

How to cook clear meat broth

To make the broth transparent, some housewives soak the meat for several hours in cool water beforehand, and then cook it after draining the old water. Naturally, the water will evaporate during the boiling process, but you should not add it, otherwise the broth will become cloudy and its taste will disappoint you.

Do not allow the water to boil violently and skim off the foam just in time, which will settle to the bottom in large ugly flakes, and the broth will lose its appetizing appearance. Onions or eggshells give a good effect - they are added to the water first of cooking. After the broth is ready, you must strain it, otherwise it will be cloudy. And, by the way, if you cook the broth only from boneless sliced meat, it will turn out much clearer.

Vegetables, spices and herbs

Traditional additives for making meat broth include carrots, celery root and onions. For taste, you can add turnips, garlic, cloves, dark peppercorns, various roots and tied bunches of herbs. The French flavor the broth with the famous “Bouquet garni” seasoning, which includes thyme, leek, bay leaf and parsley. If you first fry the vegetables in a frying pan without oil or bake them in the oven, the taste and smell of the broth will be most unusual and catchy. Vegetables are added half an hour before the dish is ready. It is curious that if you add onion skins to the water, the broth will acquire a golden color, and a piece of dry cheese will give it an unusual piquancy.

A few subtleties of cooking broth

Before boiling, the pan is tightly closed with a lid, and later it is cooked without a lid, so that drops of evaporating water do not spoil the taste of the dish. Fat that appears on the surface is usually removed, and not only for dietary purposes. The fact is that a huge amount of fat gives the broth a nasty oily-soapy taste. But don’t rush to part with this valuable product—you can use it to fry vegetables to season soups.

It’s great if the pan has thick walls and a bottom. This way the broth will cook moderately and slowly, which will improve its taste and smell. It’s better to add salt at the very end; you don’t understand how much water will boil away during the cooking process, and it will be very disappointing if the broth turns out to be too salty.

How long does it take to prepare the broth? Already, appetizing smells are spreading throughout the apartment, and the stomach begins to growl treacherously, and the household members look impatiently at the clock - when is it time for lunch? Veal and hare broth is cooked for up to 1.5 hours, until beef or smoked meat is ready you will have to wait longer - 2.5–3 hours, pork - up to 2.5 hours, chicken - 1-2 hours, and lamb - up to 2 hours . The main thing is not to overdo it, as overcooked broth acquires a nasty taste.

How to make the right broth

Broth can be either a base for sauces and soups or a separate dish. It is not difficult to prepare if you follow a few simple rules, and it can be stored frozen for quite a long time. The broth is good for health and is recommended for almost all diseases. Let's look at the basics of its manufacture.

Ingredients

High-quality ingredients are the basis of every dish. Broth is no exception.

1. Meat

If you are going to prepare meat broth, you should stick to veal, lean pork, or choose fresh beef. As for the type of cuts, brisket, neck, ribs or drumstick are ideal. Then the broth will have richness and excellent taste, because these meat parts are saturated with gelling substances.

You can safely cook the chicken completely. It is better to choose a farm product, without adding drugs or other chemicals that accelerate growth. Fresh meat is best, but if it is not available, frozen meat is also excellent.

The main thing is that defrosting occurs correctly, naturally at room temperature. If you are going to cook in the evening, you can throw the meat in the refrigerator, where it will begin to thaw evenly.

Fundamentally! If you use different types of meat to make broth, it will turn out even tastier and more nutritious.

2. Spices and vegetables

The main ingredients, along with meat, are onions and carrots. It would be a good idea to add celery root or stems. All this is taken in small quantities (1-2 pieces), the same applies to seasonings and spices. Dark pepper in any form, a couple of cloves of garlic, and herbs help improve the taste of the broth.

Gourmets can add cloves, thyme and a couple of medium-sized bay leaves. Make sure that the vegetables are proportional to each other. If the carrots or onions are very large, divide them into larger pieces. It should be noted that the broth can be one hundred percent vegetable. In this case, any vegetables can be used. Before making broth, they need to be washed as thoroughly as possible.

3. Water

It is not recommended to use tap water. If your goal is a high-quality and tasty final product, carefully filter the water you will use for cooking. Spring or store-bought water from a bottle is perfect. The required amount directly depends on how much meat you have at your disposal.

The correct calculation is 2-2.5 liters of water per kilogram of meat. If cooking is going to take a long time, keep in mind that the water will boil away. Therefore, it is better to add a little more water at first. If during the process of making the broth there is not enough water, add boiling water. Do not use cool water so that cooking is not interrupted.

Crafting recipe

Having decided on the main components, we proceed to production. It's an easy process.

Carefully wash all the ingredients and cut them into large pieces as necessary (this mainly applies to vegetables). Place the meat in a saucepan and fill it with the required amount of clean, cool water and put it on the fire.
Cook over medium heat, covered, until boiling. Then you can add salt to the broth, so the meat will give all its beneficial substances.
After boiling, reduce the heat and remove the lid. The foam that appears during the cooking process can be removed or left, it’s all up to the taste of the cook. But when removing the foam, the broth will turn out transparent. The cooking time depends on the quantity and type of meat in any particular case and ranges, on average, from one and a half to 3 hours.
About half an hour before the end of cooking, add vegetables and seasonings. To enhance the smell, you can sauté the vegetables in a dry frying pan ahead of time. Roasted vegetables are also suitable. To give the broth an amber color, add a small amount of onion skins.
Make sure the water doesn't boil too much.
When the cooking process has come to an end, remove all cooked ingredients from the broth. After this, the liquid can be further strained to achieve transparency.

When the broth is ready, drink it immediately with croutons, prepare a soup based on it, or freeze it for future dishes.

If your broth is cloudy, the situation can be saved. Take the whites of 2 eggs and place them in the broth, when it has cooled slightly, boil and strain

Tricks to follow

These aspects will help your broth become perfect:

choose a pan with a thick bottom, this will prevent unnecessary boiling;
to add a unique taste, add a couple of champignons along with the vegetables;
leave the green leaves to decorate the broth when serving, and add the stems when cooking;
A gauze bag will help get rid of cooked herbs in the finished dish: just place the spices in it before putting it in the pan

Conclusion

The composition of a traditional broth is quite common, but it is important that the ingredients are of high quality. This is the key to success. Properly prepared broth will improve your health, give you strength and, naturally, will simply be a very tasty, healthy and nutritious dish on your table. Using a good broth, you can easily prepare the most delicious soup or sauce. And if you keep it frozen, you won’t have to think about what to serve for dinner.

How to make perfect chicken broth and 4 soups based on it

Chicken broth is a must. It can not only be eaten with croutons, but also turned into a base for soup, sauce or side dish. The main thing is to cook it correctly.

What to cook the broth from?

First you will need chicken. The standard is a soup hen, in other words, a middle-aged laying hen. Unlike broiler, it can cook for hours, imparting flavor to the broth without turning into mush. If you still decide to use a broiler, reduce the cooking time to approximately 1 hour.

The traditional broth recipe uses the whole chicken, but individual parts of it or just a soup set from any hypermarket are also suitable. It’s not worth using just the breast: the meat may turn out tough and the broth may not be rich.

In addition to the main ingredient, chicken, onions, carrots, celery and seasonings are added to the broth. To give the most saturated color, vegetables can be sautéed in a small amount of oil.

1 kg chicken;
5 liters of water;
1 onion;
1 carrot;
salt, peppercorns - to taste;
greens for decoration.

How to cook broth

Rinse the chicken and place it in a deep pan. The whole carcass does not need to be cut.

Pour water so that it covers the meat. If you want the chicken to be tasty, then add salt right away. If you prefer a savory and clear broth, add salt at the end of cooking.

Wash and peel the carrots and onions. Cut the carrots into several pieces, leave the onion whole or cut in half.

Place the pan over low heat. Make sure that the water does not boil; only small bubbles should form on the surface. This will allow the broth to remain transparent. To do this, remove the resulting foam in time.

During the cooking process, water may boil away, so it should be added.

After 1.5 hours (if you are using broiler chicken, then after 10 minutes), add carrots, onions and peppers to the broth. Cook for another 1 hour.

When the time is up, try to separate the meat from the bones. If it doesn't work, cook some more. If the meat comes away, it is ready - remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly.

Cooked vegetables can be removed from the broth: they have already provided all the useful characteristics. Also remove the chicken. The meat can be used in soups, salads and snacks.

Strain the broth through cheesecloth.

The finished broth can be consumed in its pure form or used as a base for soups.

4 soups with chicken broth

1. Chicken noodles with giblets

Ingredients

150 g chicken stomachs;
150 g chicken hearts;
150 g chicken liver;
salt, pepper - to taste;
1 onion;
1 carrot;
½ tablespoon of vegetable oil;
500 ml chicken broth;
50 g egg noodles;
greenery;
2 quail eggs.

Manufacturing

Wash the chicken giblets and remove films. Place any type in a separate pan and fill with cool water. Place on the fire, add salt and pepper and bring to a boil. After boiling, cook the liver for 20–25 minutes, hearts for 40 minutes, and stomachs for about an hour.

Finely chop the onion and carrots. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, add vegetables and fry them over low heat, stirring constantly. After 2-3 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and transfer its contents to a napkin to remove excess oil.

Place the prepared giblets in a saucepan with broth and bring to a boil. Add the onions and carrots, then the egg noodles. Add the pasta completely or break it into pieces. Season with salt and pepper.

After 3-4 minutes, add finely chopped herbs. When the noodles become soft, the soup is ready. Pour it into plates and place a boiled quail egg in each.

2. Creamy tomato soup with chicken broth

Ingredients

700 ml chicken broth;
½ cup rice;
90 g tomato paste;
500 g of tomatoes in their juice;
100 g cream cheese;
parsley.

Manufacturing

Place the broth over medium heat and bring to a boil. Add rice, tomato paste and tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes, then add cream cheese and bring to a boil again. Season with salt and pepper. Add finely chopped parsley and cook until the rice is done.

Serve the soup hot with croutons and herbs.

3. Tuscan white bean soup

Ingredients

2 medium carrots;
1 onion;
1 celery stalk;
1 clove of garlic;
3 tablespoons olive oil;
salt, pepper - to taste;
2 cans of snow white beans in their juice;
3 liters of chicken broth;
4 cups spinach leaves;
30 g grated parmesan;
green peas and herbs for decoration.

Manufacturing

Finely chop the carrots, onions, celery and garlic. Heat olive oil in a thick bottomed saucepan. Add chopped vegetables, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Drain the juice from the beans, wash and dry. Mash ½ cup of legumes with a fork, add to vegetables and simmer for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Then add the whole beans to the pan and stir. Pour the mixture with chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for another 20 minutes.

Add spinach, rinsed in cool water, to the soup and cook for 2 minutes until the leaves wilt. Remove the soup from the heat, pour into bowls, sprinkle with grated Parmesan, add green peas and herbs.

Serve with crispy croutons.

4. Meatball soup with chicken broth

Ingredients

1 onion;
½ tablespoon of vegetable oil;
2 cloves of garlic;
300 g of any minced meat;
salt, pepper - to taste;
3 liters of chicken broth;
1 carrot;
1 potato;
100 g vermicelli;
1 bay leaf;
greenery.

Manufacturing

Start by making the meatballs. Finely chop the onion and fry in vegetable oil. Finely chop the garlic or put it through a garlic press. Mix it with onions and minced meat, add salt and pepper and stir well. Make meatballs. The size can be any size, but it is better to make small balls, about the size of a quail egg.

Place the pan with the broth on the fire and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add meatballs. Cook for 5–7 minutes.

Wash the carrots and potatoes and peel them. Cut the carrots into slices, and the potatoes into cubes. Place the chopped vegetables into the broth. Cook until the potatoes are done. Then add vermicelli and bay leaf. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cover with a lid.

Pour the finished soup into bowls and sprinkle with fresh herbs.