Home-made broth – step by step preparation

Broth is considered the queen of Polish soups. Its tastiest memory we usually associate with grandma’s kitchen. Preparing it can be a challenge for beginners – finding the perfect recipe is often a matter of many trials and errors. Here is one recipe that should satisfy your palate.

Pay special attention to..

First of all, pay attention to the type of meat you use to prepare the soup – most often you hear the phrase “chicken broth”, which is supposed to symbolize the delicious taste. Yes, broth made with chicken meat can be very, very good. However, many housewives suggest that the best broth will be made if you mix types of meat. So choose a portion of chicken broth, turkey neck plus a piece of beef, necessarily on the bone! This is where the special flavour comes from during cooking.

Broth is mainly a stock, which means that the longer you cook it, the better the flavour you get from its ingredients. So take your time and don’t waste it. If you want to get an excellent taste, you should let it simmer for at least two hours, but it would be best if you lasted up to three. The broth should be cooked over low heat – it should just “wink”.

Add salt at the end of cooking! This is an important point that you should not forget – unlike many other dishes, you should add salt to the broth not at the beginning but at the end. This is so that the water can better permeate all the ingredients throughout the cooking process.

Ingredients

• half a chicken,
• 200-300 g beef on the bone,
• 1 turkey neck,
• 3 liters of water,
• 2 carrots,
• 1 parsley root,
• a piece of celery,
• 1 small leek,
• 1 onion with peel,
• bay leaf,
• cabbage leaf (optional),
• 1 dried mushroom,
• 3 grains of allspice,
• 5 black peppercorns,
• salt (about ½ tsp),
• parsley,
• pasta (preferably from quail eggs).

Preparation

Step 1: Pour cold water (3 liters) into a pot, put in the meat that has been thoroughly washed beforehand and start cooking.

Step2: After boiling, some scum will appear on the surface and should be removed. Some people leave the scum behind, but it is more common to remove it

Step3: Lower the heat and add the washed and peeled vegetables. Do not peel all of the onions, leave a layer for better color. Before tossing in the onions, burn them over the stove burner or in the oven. We also add the spices (except the salt!) and partially cover the pot, taking care not to let the soup cook too hard – as mentioned above, it should gently “wink”.

Step 4: Now we are patient and let our soup simmer for 2-3 hours, checking the heat from time to time

Step5: Finally, we add salt and taste – you can add more salt and pepper if you like.

Step6: After cooking, it is advisable to strain the broth through a strainer.

It is best to serve the broth with egg noodles, a piece of sliced carrot and sprinkle with parsley.

A side dish for the discerning

Let’s return to the scum. Some people believe that there is no need to pick them. Others, on the other hand, not only scoop the scum but also recommend that after boiling, you remove the meat, pour out all the water, wash the meat and the pot thoroughly to get rid of the scum on its sides, then put the meat back in and pour in fresh cold water, after which you add the vegetables. There is also an added plus for the vegetables highlighted here – boiling them along with the water allows them to extract more flavor than when you throw the vegetables in boiling water.

Plus some helpful information

• Broth makes a great base for other soups – if it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to on the first try, you can easily turn it into tomato soup.
• Depending on the amount of vegetables and meat, the taste of broth may be more vegetable or meat – you can try changing the amount of ingredients. For example, more carrots will add sweetness to the broth.
• If you find the broth too oily, just chill it in the refrigerator after it cools down – after a few hours you will be able to easily remove the fat that will accumulate on the surface.
• What to do with meat from broth? Many people recommend serving broth with pieces of cooked meat. Another way is to use it as a base for other dishes.