The beef broth is a basic recipe of Italian cuisine, used to prepare many other dishes such as risottos, soups, or stews. I personally make beef broth when I want a good first course like tortellini in broth and freeze the excess to always have it available when recipes call for broth.
There are many recipes to prepare beef broth and normally mixed meat is used with the addition of bones and various poultry with their skin, but I prefer a flavorful yet light beef broth.
To prepare my beef broth I usually use a piece of beef suitable for boiling, moderately fatty.
You can enrich your broth to add flavor with many “aromatics” such as onion, celery, garlic, carrots, and bay leaves.
To those who love the homey flavors of the past, I also remind
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 411.76 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 5.33 (g) of which sugars 2.16 (g)
- Proteins 39.87 (g)
- Fat 25.04 (g) of which saturated 10.21 (g)of which unsaturated 12.28 (g)
- Fibers 1.25 (g)
- Sodium 587.90 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 300 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1.3 lbs beef (piece for boiling)
- 6 cups water
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 stalk celery
- 2 leaves bay leaves
- 1 carrot
- 4 piccadilly tomatoes
- to taste coarse salt
Tools
For preparing the beef broth, I recommend using a pot with high sides
- 1 Pot
Preparation
The preparation of beef broth is very simple, it only requires time, at least 2 hours for cooking because it needs to simmer for a long time to become flavorful.
The beef broth should cook for at least 2 hours, making sure to keep it covered so it doesn’t completely evaporate. At first, you’ll bring it to a boil, but the cooking must continue gently; it needs to simmer for a long time to absorb all the flavors of the aromatics, and the meat must release all its characteristics. You’ll get a broth that’s perfect to enjoy on its own, one of my favorite ways to consume it is with pieces of toasted bread. Perfect for enriching other preparations and avoiding the use of the famous “bouillon cube”.
As a first step, wash and peel all the aromatics, including tomatoes. Put the boiled meat in the pot, add the chopped aromatics, water, and salt. Bring to a high heat until it boils; when the broth starts to boil, reduce the heat a little.
The beef broth must cook for at least two hours over medium heat, simmering covered to prevent total evaporation. The cooking should be gentle but not too low; it should always simmer. It will be ready when you see it has a consistency similar to the photo, with the fat from the meat showing on the surface.
NOTES
This amount of broth is enough to prepare four first courses, but since the broth is an excellent base for other preparations, it allows you to use other flavor enhancers like the “bouillon cube” as little as possible. I usually prepare this amount even when there are two of us and freeze the excess in small glass jars to use when needed as they will defrost in a few minutes using the microwave.
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If you liked the recipe or have questions, feel free to comment here or on social media Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter
If you liked the recipe or have questions, feel free to comment here or on social media Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make it with chicken?
You can use any meat you prefer to make beef broth, keeping the same proportions between meat weight, water, and aromatics; you can also use mixed cuts.
Do I need to add oil to the recipe?
Absolutely not. The fats contained in the meat, which will be released during the long cooking, are enough. In fact, if you use meat like chicken with all its skin, they might be excessive, and I recommend removing some fat at the end of cooking before consuming it.
