Soupmeat
Soup meat or boiled meat is a common kitchen term for various pieces of beef or veal that are used to prepare a broth . It is mainly long-fiber meat with a high proportion of connective tissue , fat and tendons , and sometimes also bones . As a result, soup meat contains a high proportion of flavors and gelatine .
The usual pieces are:
While the thin and cross ribs contain little usable meat, the meat from Hesse and breast can be used as a soup or for plate meat . The strong oxtail soup is prepared from the tail .
Because of the high connective tissue and tendon content typical of long-fiber meat, soup meat must be cooked for a long time at a moderate temperature - the rule of thumb is two hours per kilogram. The protein of the muscle fibers coagulates first , the gelatine from the collagen of the connective tissue and the tendons are loosened more slowly. Therefore, the meat becomes tough at first, then tenderly, and begins to crumble if cooked for too long. At the same time, aromas and fat are released into the water.
If soup meat is served with cold, unsalted water, osmosis creates a particularly strong broth, while the meat itself largely loses its taste. If, on the other hand, the meat is to be used again, it is placed in boiling, salted water, which means that the meat remains more aromatic, but the broth has less flavor. It is therefore also common to first make a broth from simple soup meat or bones, and then to cook the higher-quality meat intended for further use in it.
In addition to beef and veal, similar pieces of lamb and pork are also used to make broths - but these broths are usually only used as broth for stews or other dishes such as pork knuckle .