The Stewing Pipkin or Pot-au-feu

The handbook of household management ... · Tegetmeier, W. B. · 1894

Source: The handbook of household management and cookery
Status: success · extracted 12 days ago
Not a recipe: No

Ingredients (12)

For the broth

three pounds of the beef ↝ Beef, ground, raw [Ground beef]
two quarts of cold water ↝ Water, tap [Tap water]

Vegetables and seasonings

celery ↝ Celery, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
onions ↝ Onions, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
carrots ↝ Carrots, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
turnips ↝ Turnips, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
salt ↝ Salt, table, iodized [Spices and Herbs]
pepper ↝ Spices, pepper, black [Spices and Herbs]
sweet herbs

To serve

toasted bread ↝ Bread, vegetable [Yeast breads]
rice ↝ Rice, cooked, NFS [Rice]
Scotch barley ↝ Barley, pearled, raw [Cereal Grains and Pasta]

Instructions (13)

Put the meat into an earthen pot.
Pour cold water on it, in the proportion of two quarts to three pounds of the beef.
Set it at the side of the fire.
Allow the pot to heat gradually.
As the water heats, it will dilate the muscular fibres of the flesh by dissolving the gelatinous matter which covers them, and allow the albumen to detach itself easily and rise to the surface of the water in light foam or scum.
The savoury juice of the meat will dissolve little by little, adding flavour to the broth.
By this simple proceeding of slow cooking, a savoury and nourishing broth, and tender boiled meat with a good flavour will be obtained.
Avoid placing the pot-au-feu on too hot a fire, as it will boil too soon, causing the albumen to coagulate and the fibre to harden, resulting in hard boiled meat and a broth without flavour or goodness.
Pour a little fresh water into the pot at intervals to help the scum to rise more abundantly.

Adding vegetables and serving

Add whatever vegetables are in season, such as celery, onions, carrots, turnips.
Add salt, pepper, and sweet herbs.
The broth may be poured over toasted bread.
Alternatively, rice or Scotch barley may be added to the broth to make it more nutritious.

Original Text

The Stewing Pipkin or Pot-au-feu is the general mode of cooking amongst the working classes in France. Its use effects a great saving of fuel, trouble, and skill. Carême, one of the most celebrated French cooks, gives the following directions:—
“The good housewife puts her meat into an earthen pot, and pours cold water on it, in the proportion of two quarts to three pounds of the beef. She sets it at the side of the fire.
“The pot grows gradually hot, and as the water heats it dilates the muscular fibres of the flesh by dissolving the gelatinous matter which covers them, and allows the albumen to detach itself easily, and rise to the surface of the water in light foam or scum, while the savoury juice of the meat, dissolving little by little, adds flavour to the broth.
“By this simple proceeding of slow cooking, the housewife obtains a savoury and nourishing broth, and tender boiled meat, and with a good flavour. But by placing the pot-au-feu on too hot a fire, it boils too soon; the albumen coagulates and the fibre hardens; the sad result is that you have only a hard piece of boiled meat, and a broth without flavour or goodness. A little fresh water poured into the pot at intervals helps the scum to rise more abundantly.”
Whatever vegetables are in season may be added to the stewing-pot, as celery, onions, carrots, turnips, and salt, pepper, and sweet herbs. The broth may be poured over toasted bread, or rice or Scotch barley may be added so as to make it more nutritious.

Notes

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