Rinderbrühe (Kraftbrühe)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large stockpot, 6 to 8 litres
• •Wide skimmer or ladle
• •Fine sieve
• •Clean linen cloth or cheesecloth
• •Shallow storage containers

Instructions

1. 1

   Rinse the bones

   Rinse the bones and Suppenfleisch under cold water to wash away loose blood and bone dust. Loose blood clouds the broth before the pot has even warmed, and bone dust gives a dull, chalky taste. Put everything into a large stockpot.

2. 2

   Start cold

   Cover the bones and meat with the cold water, then set the pot over medium-low heat. Do not hurry this. Cold water draws the juices out slowly, and the proteins rise cleanly to the surface as the pot warms. If you start hot, they seize in place and the broth tastes thinner.

   Leave the lid slightly open once the pot is warm. A tight lid traps too much heat, and then the simmer turns into a boil while your back is turned.
3. 3

   Skim patiently

   As grey foam gathers on the surface, skim it off with a ladle or fine skimmer before it breaks apart. This is the clearing work. Boil now and you beat that foam back into the broth, where it stays as haze. Das braucht seine Zeit.

4. 4

   Brown the onions

   While the broth warms, put the onion halves cut side down in a dry pan until the cut faces are dark golden with a few brown patches. The onion skin and browning give the broth a pale amber colour without roasting the bones, so the stock stays clean rather than heavy.

5. 5

   Add the roots

   When the surface foam has mostly stopped, add the browned onions, carrots, leek, celeriac, parsley root or stems, bay, peppercorns, juniper, and lovage if using. Add the vegetables after skimming because early roots catch the scum and make the pot harder to clean. Now runter mit der Temperatur, down with the temperature.

6. 6

   Simmer low

   Keep the broth at the quietest simmer for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, with only a lazy bubble here and there. This pulls gelatine from the bones and flavour from the meat without emulsifying fat into the liquid. A rolling boil makes a cloudy broth. A still pot makes a clear one.

7. 7

   Lift and strain

   Lift out the meat and bones gently, then strain the broth through a fine sieve lined with a clean cloth. Do not press hard on the vegetables, because pressing forces pulp into the broth and muddies the finish. Pick the meat from the Suppenfleisch for soup, salad, or bread with mustard. Weggeworfen wird nichts.

8. 8

   Chill and degrease

   Cool the broth quickly in shallow containers, then refrigerate it until the fat sets on top. Lift off the fat in a sheet and keep a little for frying onions or potatoes if it tastes clean. Chilling gives you control; skimming hot fat with a spoon wastes broth and patience.

9. 9

   Season at the end

   Warm only what you need and salt it then. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss: salt at the end because the stock may be reduced later for sauce, and early salt turns proper concentration into a briny mistake. Serve clear with noodles, Flädle, Eierstich, or Markklößchen.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for marrow bones plus Suppenfleisch. Bones alone give body, but the meat gives the broth its beef flavour. A stock made only from bare bones tastes hollow.
• •Do not roast the bones for this version. Roasted bones make a darker stock for some sauces, but Rinderbrühe wants clarity and a clean beef taste, especially if it will be served as soup.
• •Wash the leek well between the layers. One spoon of grit in the pot ruins three litres of careful work. That is not rustic. That is just dirt.
• •For Kraftbrühe, reduce the strained broth gently by one third after degreasing. Keep it low again, because the second boil can still cloud the work you already did.
• •Use the cooked Suppenfleisch cold the next day with mustard, onion, pickles, and rye bread, or dice it back into soup. The broth paid for the meat, so eat the meat.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the broth up to 4 days ahead and keep it refrigerated, covered. The fat cap helps protect it, but remove that fat before reheating for a clear soup.
• •Freeze in 500ml and 1 litre containers for sauces and soups. Label them unsalted if you followed the recipe, because that tells you how hard you can reduce them later.
• •For a clearer Sunday soup, strain and chill the broth the day before serving. Cold broth is easier to degrease, and the flavour settles overnight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)