Beef Tea

A sickroom preparation rather than a soup: cold-water extraction of soluble protein and flavour from lean beef, held below a boil so the liquid stays clear and does not taste cooked. Everything about the method serves that one aim.

• Never let it boilThe jar sits in simmering water, not in it directly, so the contents stay below a boil, though over an hour they will approach the temperature of the surrounding water. Boiling coagulates the dissolved protein into grey scum and turns a clear amber liquid cloudy and flat.
• The preserve jarA standard pint canning jar works. Set the lid on loosely or leave the ring finger-tight only, never sealed, so steam can escape as the jar heats.
• The trivetAny small rack, a folded cloth, or a canning ring on the pan bottom will do. Its job is to keep the glass off the direct heat of the pan floor so it does not crack.
• Back of the rangeOn a coal or wood stove this was the coolest zone. On a modern hob it means the lowest setting that keeps the surrounding water at a bare shiver, with the odd bubble breaking.
• Round steakAny lean cut works, but round is right: fat contributes nothing to the extraction and makes the finished tea greasy. Trim it hard and cut the meat small, as the recipe directs, for surface area.
• The cold-water soakThe ten-minute stand in cold water before heating is deliberate. Cold water draws out soluble protein and juices that hot water would immediately set inside the meat.
• Yield and servingHalf a pound of beef and a cup of water gives well under a cup once strained; the direction to 'serve in hot cup' points to a single teacupful, meant to be drunk at once while hot.
• What it is notThis is not stock. There are no bones, no long cooking, no gelatine, so it will not set or thicken and it will taste thin to anyone expecting broth. Salt at the end, generously, or it tastes of nothing.
• KeepingLightly cooked meat juice with no acid, salt or fat is an excellent bacterial medium. Refrigerate any leftover immediately and use it the same day.