"Boiled beef in clear soup", Austrian royal cuisine

Source: Global Times

The author has eaten many Austrian specialties, and the deepest impression is the former royal cuisine "boiled beef in clear soup". In fact, it looks very ordinary, that is, beef and vegetables soaked in the clear soup, but it can have a solid position at the Austrian state banquet. Only by tasting it will you know that the cooking method of this dish, the sense of ceremony during the meal, and the taste presented are all very good.

"Boiled beef in clear soup"

"Beef in clear soup" is a traditional dish that can be made in many restaurants in Austria and southern Germany, but the most authentic and famous is the "Prahuta Restaurant" in vienna's inner city. The exterior of the restaurant is a green and white Austrian youth architectural style, the interior decoration is elegant and retro style, when dining seems to return to the old times, and the price of the signature dish "boiled beef in clear soup" really makes the author feel sad, but the whole rice is still worth the money.

The process of enjoying "boiled beef in clear soup" is very ritualistic and is mainly divided into three steps. When the waiter served the dish, he first propped up a long iron plate on the table, and successively placed several brass pots of different sizes on it, and the aroma wafted from the steaming pot. The first step is to "drink the soup", in which the waiter scoops the soup out of the pot and divides it into a small bowl in front of each person, and then fills it with some rhizome vegetables and a bone-like thing. Don't underestimate this pot of clear soup, which fully presents the original taste of natural ingredients, the deliciousness of beef and the sweetness of vegetables are all in it, and it is not greasy at all. The second step is to "taste the bone marrow of the cow", fish out the remaining bone in the soup bowl, use a knife to dig out the middle part of the bone marrow, and spread it evenly on a piece of black bread, you can add some salt or black pepper, just like eating jam bread for breakfast, which is very interesting. The third step is to "eat beef", first take some crumb-like fried potatoes on a large plate, then take a slice of beef from the copper pot, spread a few orange and yellow carrots in the soup to garnish, and finally add spinach puree according to personal taste. When eaten, the beef is cut into small pieces and served with a refreshing and appetizing vegetable sauce, which is delicate and tender.

"Boiled beef in a clear soup" is the name given by the Chinese based on the practice of this beef dish, and its real name means "beef rump tip meat" in German. As the name suggests, the most authentic "broth boiled beef" uses the meat of the tip of the calf's rump, but in fact, many parts of the beef meat can be made into this dish.

The practice of "boiling beef in clear soup" is both rugged and exquisite. Large pieces of raw beef do not have to be cut small, simmer slowly in a pan at low temperatures for two to three hours, while cutting the onions in half and frying until browned to add color and flavor to the soup, then put the whole carrot, green onion and fried onion into the pot and cook for another hour. Scoop out the cooked beef and carrots and cut them into thin slices, chop the beef bones into small pieces, and pour them into a copper pot along with the filtered clarified broth. Finally, the whole pot of soup is heated to a suitable temperature for eating, add a little emerald green onion, you can serve it, the beef at this time is cooked but not old, soft and not broken, the section is neat and beautiful, the carrot color is bright and bright, let people look at it with an appetite.

As early as the end of the Middle Ages, when potatoes were not widely grown, cattle were easier to raise than pigs and more convenient to drive from remote rural areas to cities, so beef was one of the cheapest foods in the cities at that time, and was even used as the most important source of nutrition by the Viennese, just like bread. In the 19th century, The Viennese were able to accurately identify and assess the quality and differences in the meat of various parts of the body of cattle, creating a well-known European "beef culture", when almost all recipes included how to pair and eat beef.

The traditional Viennese dish ,"boiled beef", originated in the 19th century and became the main dish on the menu of the Austrian royal kitchen, serving daily with a different side dish. Emperor Franz Joseph, who lived frugally, was a big lover of beef, which made the simple and simple boiled beef famous. Viennese citizens followed suit in the royal family's diet, and cooking beef became the first choice for people of all classes when eating in their homes or restaurants.