How to Make Clear, Flavorful Broth: Chefs' Secrets Anyone Can Use
What could be easier than making broth! But in practice, not everyone succeeds. Sometimes the liquid turns out cloudy, sometimes tasteless.
But real broth is rich, transparent, aromatic and very tasty. And it is not so difficult to cook. You just need to adopt simple secrets of cooks that anyone can repeat.
7 Secrets for the Perfect Broth
1. Broths are divided into three types: white, yellow and red. For white, vegetables and meat are put into water raw.
For yellow, vegetables are first fried in a dry frying pan until scorched. For red, meat and vegetables are first fried, then placed in a pot of water and boiled.
2. The most delicious and rich broth is made from beef brisket. It contains the so-called sugar bones, which give it a unique sweetish taste. You can also add other pieces of meat and bones, but the key to taste is the brisket.
3. There is an opinion that the first water after boiling should be drained. This method is justified when the meat is not of very good quality and may be dirty.
For example, the broth is cooked on chicken or pork legs of dubious quality. But it is a completely different matter if there is brisket, shank, etc. in the pot. Draining water from such meat is real barbarity, since after the first boil it gives up some of the juices.
4. If the meat is good, the water will not drain. But you must add salt to the water immediately after you put the meat in it.
Salt draws juices out of products, so the broth should be salted at the beginning of cooking, then it will have the most intense flavor. But if you cook meat for the sake of meat, then you need to salt it 5 minutes before it is ready. Then the maximum flavor and juice will remain in the piece.
5. Salt also helps to separate the foam. You need to remove the foam immediately. If you don't, the protein will split, fall into the water and make the broth cloudy. Experienced cooks remove the foam not with a slotted spoon, but with a spoon to remove even its smallest particles. This is the key to transparency.
6. For flavor, add carrots cut into large pieces, bay leaf, and a little ground pepper. Onions and cloves give a special flavor.
You need to stick 4-5 cloves into an unpeeled onion (the peel gives it a golden color and a unique aroma) and lower this structure into a saucepan. In professional circles, this technique is called "onion cluté".
7. Meat and vegetables should be cooked without a lid. Otherwise, the condensation will get back into the pan and make the broth cloudy.
If you like to diversify the taste of classic broth, add aromatic vegetables to it. For example, celery, parsley root, parsnips.
