Mixed meat broth made with beef and chicken, a great base for many Italian recipes. Our mothers and grandmothers used to make excellent broths at home, both meat and vegetable, but today, unfortunately, we are always in a hurry and often prefer to buy ready-made broth. I must admit that I also sometimes use ready-made or granular broth to prepare some soup, but only when I’ve run out of my stock, which I usually keep in the freezer, already portioned and ready to use. I must say that even though there are fairly acceptable broths available on the market, nothing compares to homemade. Believe me, once you try it, you won’t want to go back!
Other homemade broth recipes:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 3 liters of broth (approximately)
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Slow Cooking, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Mixed Meat Broth
- 2.2 lbs beef (for boiling)
- 1.1 lbs chicken
- 1 stalk celery
- 2 carrots
- 1 leek
- 1 onion
- 1 bunch parsley
- 2 leaves bay leaf
- to taste black peppercorns
- 1 gallon water
Recommended Tools
This content contains one or more affiliate links
- Strainer
- Cheesecloth
Preparation of MIXED MEAT BROTH
Peel the onion. Clean the leek, using only the white part; rinse them under running water.
Wash the celery and carrots and cut them into pieces. (I had very fresh carrots, so I preferred not to scrape them).
Remove the skin from the chicken and place it in a large pot (I chose a fairly fatty beef cut, so I preferred to remove the chicken skin, but you can leave it on).
Add the beef, the prepared vegetables (onion, leek, and celery), the parsley, bay leaves, and a few black peppercorns. Pour in the water, cover, and bring to a boil. (I don’t add salt, I prefer to do it when it’s time to use the broth).
Leave a vent in the lid and occasionally skim the broth, removing impurities that form on the surface using a skimmer. This will be necessary for the first 30-40 minutes of boiling, then it won’t be needed anymore, and you can close the vent. Cook on the lowest flame for at least 3 hours.
At the end of cooking, drain everything to retrieve the broth, then filter the broth by passing it through the strainer lined with cheesecloth.
NOTES
To obtain a leaner but also clearer and more transparent broth, let it cool, then put it in the fridge. The next day the fat will have solidified on the surface and you can remove it completely or partially with a skimmer.
The meat broth can be stored in the refrigerator, closed in a container, for 3 days.
You can also freeze it (only if you used fresh and not thawed ingredients) for about 3 months. In this case, it’s advisable to divide it into portions.
If you liked this recipe, you might also be interested in Stracciatella Soup or Vegetable Broth.
