French Onion Soup
Rich and Meaty Beef Broth
There are different recipes for beef broth, which is an essential ingredient in most French onion soup recipes. The following recipe for beef broth combines parsnips, potatoes, celery, carrots, garlic, thyme and more for a really rich and hearty beef broth. You might think the ingredients list for this beef broth is quite long but it is well worth making because it tastes so delicious.
Roasting the beef bones and vegetables before adding them to the broth makes them extra flavorful and all the ingredients in this beef broth recipe work in perfect harmony to create one of the best beef broth recipes you have ever tasted. It is better to add the salt at the end. If you add a tablespoon of salt to three quarts of broth, then reduce the broth to one quart, you will still have the equivalent of a tablespoon of salt in it.
To clarify beef broth (to make it clearer by removing the tiny flecks not caught by the cheesecloth), you need to add a mixture of quarter of a cup of water, an egg white and a crushed eggshell to the strained broth, boil it, take it off the heat and leave it standing for five minutes. Strain it again through a cheesecloth-lined sieve. This is not a vital step but if you want clarified beef broth, you can do it.
Full Flavored Beef Broth
Ingredients -
6 lbs beef bones
1 onion
12 cups water
2 cloves garlic
8 whole black peppercorns
½ cup water
3 carrots
½ cup cubed potato
½ cup chopped parsnip
1 bay leaf
2 stalks celery, including some leaves
1 tomato
4 sprigs fresh parsley
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons dried thyme
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Chop the celery and carrots into 1 inch pieces and slice the onion. Put the bones, carrots and onion in a big, shallow roasting pan and bake them uncovered for half an hour or until the bones are browned, turning everything occasionally.
Drain the fat off and put the bones, onions, and carrots into a big soup pot.
Pour ½ cup water into the roasting pan and combine it with the stuck on bits, then pour everything from the roasting pan into the soup pot.
Add the parsnips, tomato, celery, peeled potatoes, potato peelings, parsley, peppercorns, thyme, garlic, and bay leaf.
Add the 12 cups of water and bring everything to a boil.
Turn the heat down, cover the soup pot, and let the beef broth simmer for 5 hours.
Strain the broth and discard the solid bits.
Add as much salt as you need, for taste.
(Makes 8 Cups)
Why Beef Broth is So Good
Beef broth is the meatiest and richest broth. It is fuller flavored than veal broth, stronger than lamb broth, richer than chicken broth and meatier than pork broth. It is a world away from vegetable broth and the total opposite of fish broth. Beef broth is an essential ingredient in many famous recipes, including classic French onion soup. Nothing else contrasts with the sweet, juicy onions like meaty beef broth.
Beef Broth's Part in French Onion Soup
If you want to make a good French onion soup, beef broth is a fairly important ingredient. If you want to make a classic, traditional French onion soup, beef broth is crucial. The best beef broth is obviously a homemade beef broth. If you have never made your own broth, do not worry because making beef broth is as easy as simmering some beef bones with some vegetables in water and sieving the results. If you want to make the best French onion soup recipe, you will need to make the best beef broth.
Hearty Beef Broth Ingredients
Potato, celery, turnip, parsnip, and carrot are full flavored vegetables and that is what beef broth is all about. Beef broth has a hearty, meaty flavor, which means that subtle flavored vegetables just will not stand up to its taste. Strong vegetables go with the beef flavor without overpowering it, which is why they are so great in these recipes. Onion, parsley, tomato, garlic, and peppercorns also feature in a lot of beef broth recipes. Bay leaves and thyme add a subtle herbal flavor, which goes nicely with the meaty broth. Every broth comes out slightly differently because of the meat and vegetables that go into it but broth is a delightfully simple dish to prepare.