Whether served to season tortellini or to flavor an important roast, broth is a very precious preparation, always. We learn how to do it properly
Next week will be Sant'Ambrogio and then in a beating of wings will come the Christmas Eve Dinner, Christmas lunch and last but not least, last year's dinner. In a moment. And you will be on the piece, as always. With some tricks learned over the years, some cleverness that will allow you to have everything under control without wavering. Neither on the choice of the menu nor the preparation of the dishes. Because you know how to move and the to do list you have ready it for a while. For example you know very well how to prepare a Christmas broth succulent and sapid, which, even if you decide not to serve cappelletti, can always be useful.
The Christmas stock, the lunch superstar
Whether you want to bring to the table the classic tortellini or risotto or simply a good consommé, broth is an indispensable ingredient. And like any recipe made of a few ingredients, even the broth to be memorable must be done with quality raw materials. Beef, not too thin, together with pieces of poultry, without forgetting bones rich in cartilage, and then the classic vegetables, onions (golden and unpeeled), carrots and celery. For those who want a more characteristic flavor, you can add spices like cloves and cinnamon, in addition to a bay leaf. This is the indication for a broth rich in taste and consistency, which will make you dream of siping it not only on Christmas Day.
A long cooking
For it to be a good broth it is necessary that the meat bake for a long time in the water. This allows to extract from the vegetables and meat all the most tasty substances, and to dissolve the collagen. The firing temperature will be higher, less time will be needed to get this result. On the condition, however, to have a meat that can not be used, because it is completely frayed. If instead you hold one medium temperature is you will extend the times you will get the best result. Long cooking also allows the collagen present in the bones and in the connective tissue to dissolve, forming a gelatin that will give a greater consistency to the broth.
The right meats
Whether it's veal or beef, get a good amount of fat and some with bones for a good Christmas stock. They are fine the biancostato, the cup, the priest's hat, the muscle, the bone marrow and then pieces of hen or capon. You can also put a whole or a quarter hen of it, and then, once cooked, you can season everything in a salad and eat in the following days as a single dish.
The recipe for Christmas stock
Take a large pot and fill it with water, about 5 liters. Then add about a pound and a half of meat between beef and poultry and cook over low heat, covering with a lid. When two hours have passed, add to the stock two carrots, a golden onion with a peel and a stalk of celery, all cut into chunks. Add some cloves, a pinch of parsley pepper and cook for two hours. After cooking, salt, tips and then let it cool. If you want a lighter broth, once it has cooled, remove with a skimmer the patina of fat that will have formed on the surface. If you like a richer taste instead, leave it: warming it will melt again.