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Soup for Invalids (Take six pounds of shin)
1212. Take six pounds of shin of beef, six pounds of any white meat, seasoned, and an onion, if liked; put it in a stone jar, and tie down with bladder; let it boil twelve hours in a large saucepan of water, then strain it off. A tea or table spoonful is enough for an invalid, if taken several times during the day. (It is well to know, that what remains after the soup has been strained, makes excellent common stock with additional water.)
This is a sealed-jar beef essence rather than a soup in the ordinary sense: no liquid goes into the jar at all, and everything that comes out is juice drawn from the meat itself. The method is sound but the quantities are institutional, so scale before you begin.
- The hinge: no water in the jarThe water in the saucepan is the heating medium only. If any of it gets into the jar the whole point is lost, so the covering must be watertight and the jar must never be allowed to float or tip.
- Bladder, and what replaces itA pig's bladder was tied wet over the mouth of the jar and shrank tight as it dried. A double layer of foil under a sheet of parchment, tied down hard with string, does the same job; a screw lid should be left one turn loose so steam can escape.
- Keep it covered and topped upTwelve hours of simmering will boil a pan dry twice over. Stand the jar on a folded cloth or trivet so it is off the pan base, keep the water at least two-thirds up the jar, and top up with boiling water from a kettle so the jar is never chilled.
- "Any white meat"In this period that means veal, rabbit, or fowl, valued for the gelatine they give. Veal knuckle and a whole jointed chicken are the closest modern equivalents; the shin of beef supplies the flavour and colour.
- Scale it downTwelve pounds of meat is a sickroom's supply for several days. One pound of shin and one pound of veal or chicken in a 1-litre jar behaves identically.
- YieldYields vary, but something in the region of a quarter to a third of the meat weight as strained liquid is usual: two pounds of meat may give around half a pint of intensely savoury, dark essence, which should set to a jelly when cold.
- Season lightly, skim thoroughly"Seasoned" here means salt and perhaps pepper, and a very little goes far in something this concentrated. Chill the strained liquid and lift the cake of fat off before reheating.
- Keeping itTwelve hours at a simmer is a thorough cook, but it does not sterilise the essence and the jar does nothing to preserve it. Refrigerate and use within three days, or freeze in tablespoon portions.
- The second extractionThe closing note is worth taking seriously: the spent meat still holds plenty. Cover it with water, simmer two hours more and you have a serviceable everyday stock.