Beef borscht recipe is a unique culinary creation. This is one of the few dishes that allows the chef to add something new to his recipe. Each housewife cooks borscht in her own way, even if she uses a classic recipe. It is scary to imagine how many methods and recipes for cooking borscht exist in the world. Perhaps no other dish has such popularity. And how many disputes are being held about how to cook borscht correctly, how to preserve beet color, how to make broth rich.
If you have not yet developed your own recipe for cooking this first dish, then we suggest you cook a classic borsch. This will be a kind of foundation, which can be supplemented and diversified depending on your desires and culinary skills.
List of ingredients
- Meat - 650 g of beef with bone.
- Vegetables - one large beet, three potatoes, half a cabbage, one onion, bell peppers, 2 medium-sized carrots, 3 cloves of garlic, two large juicy tomatoes.
- Spices - bay leaf, 15 g sugar, 10 ml lemon juice, fresh herbs, salt.
Boil meat
The first step, which is indicated in any classic recipe for borsch with beef, is the cooking of the broth. To do this, you need a fairly roomy and spacious pan. A piece of beef with bone is well washed and only then sent to a container with cold water. The first 12-15 minutes of cooking is not recommended to cover the pan with a lid. On high heat, bring the broth to a boil, reduce gas, remove the foam. Already over low heat, the broth needs to cook for 32-42 minutes under a closed lid.
Vegetable preparation
Experienced housewives advise you not to rush with the addition of vegetables to the broth. Leave the meat alone for half an hour, let it cook for yourself. During this time, peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes, send them to a plate with cold water. In a second plate, finely chopped onions are placed. In the other two, beets and carrots are grated on a coarse grater. We give away another large bowl for shredded cabbage. In a small saucer you will find finely chopped tomatoes and sweet bell pepper. The preparation is completed.
Cooking roasting
Grilling or, as they call it, grilling for first courses is prepared in different ways. For a classic borsch, it is necessary to cook beets with sugar and lemon juice in one pan. On the other - the rest of the vegetables.
So, the first beet pan. First, pour the vegetable oil. Grated beets are sent to the butter and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Yes, the process is quite lengthy, but soft, beetroot completely giving away its juices and rich color is worth it. After 10 minutes of stewing, add sugar to beets and pour over lemon juice. Some use vinegar, but the traditional recipe always indicates a softer and more gentle ingredient for the stomach - lemon juice.
The second pan will be responsible for onion-carrot frying. The onions are sent first to the pan. Once it becomes transparent, add the carrots. Stew vegetables for about 3-6 minutes. We add tomato puree and finely chopped sweet bell pepper to carrots and onions. Stew the tomato for 15 minutes.
How to cook borsch with beef
When all the ingredients are ready, and all the preparatory steps have been completed, you can start assembling the dish. We take the boiled beef on the bone from the broth, leave to cool. Diced potatoes and cabbage take its place in the pan. While the vegetables are boiling, we take apart the meat and cut it into portions. Sent to the soup. Pour tomato frying there. All mix well. We are waiting for the potatoes to be cooked. At the last stage of cooking, beets are added.
Borsch with beef and beets should boil for another 3-5 minutes and you can add fresh herbs, bay leaves and peppercorns. At this stage, check for salt, adjust the taste, if necessary. After the vegetables, two types of frying, meat and added spices were swept for another 10 minutes, the gas can be turned off. Borsch is served, of course, according to the classic version, with a spoon of sour cream.
The secrets of delicious borsch
- As we said earlier, all recipes for borsch with beef differ in the nuances of cooking. One of the controversial issues is stewing beets. Some housewives prefer to throw grated root vegetables immediately into a boiling broth, while others make beetroot frying with vinegar or lemon juice. So that the first dish does not work out fresh and faded, beets still need to be stewed before adding to the broth.
- Any borsch starts with cooking the broth. That's what experienced chefs think. Saving on a good piece of beef on the bone is not worth it. You can, of course, use chicken, duck, rabbit or pork for cooking. But a real rich borsch, with good pieces of meat, attracting with its aroma and attracting mouth-watering drops of oil on the surface is obtained only from beef.
- Onions must be added before beets. In 2-3 minutes of stewing, he manages to give his piquant aroma and taste to the soup. If you add onions after beets, then the taste of "onion" vegetable will be immediately killed, hidden and not noticeable.
- According to the classic recipe for borsch with beef, cabbage should be added after the potato or with it. Some housewives add beans, sour apples, zucchini, and legumes to borsch. There are no such ingredients in the classic recipe, but you should not refuse them if the taste of the eaters requires it.
- But with spices you can and should experiment. In addition to fresh herbs, garlic, bay leaf and pepper, you can add cilantro, ginger, dill, marjoram to the borsch.