Homemade Italian Meat Broth (Brodo di Carne)

After just one sip, you feel better when you are depressed. Fortunately, preparation is simple. You will have access to a wide variety of delectable Italian recipes once you master the art of making broth.

I am going to provide a simple recipe for homemade Italian meat broth today. It can be prepared in a regular pot or in a pressure cooker: for three hours in a pot or even better, for one hour in a pressure cooker. Along with the dish, we will look at several conventional methods for utilizing the leftover meat and stock. So, I have delicious topics to discuss with you!

Ingredients:

• mixed meat (1/4 chicken or stewing hen, 1 lg meaty beef rib, 1 lg piece of chuck, brisket, shin, marrow, cheek, or shank) 1.1-1.4 kg (2 1/2-3 lbs),
• veal bone (optional) 1,
• onion (peeled and left whole) 1 medium,
• carrot (washed and trimmed, peeling is optional) 1,
• celery (washed) 1 stalk,
• sea salt (generous 2 1/2 tsp) 13 g (plus more for final seasoning),
• tomato (optional) 1,
• parsley (optional) 1 sprig.

Equipment:

• Large stockpot or pressure cooker,
• Strainer,
• Skimmer.

Italian Meat Broth Is Simplicity at Its Best

Italian meat broth is a straightforward dish. Italian broths are simple and modest, in contrast to French brown or white stocks, broths, demi-glaces, or roasted stock. They have a milder flavor and lack pretense. Italian “food design” favors minimalism and letting the best components take center stage.

Avoid adding too many ingredients to an Italian-style broth in an attempt to give it more flavor. That is not the topic here. Ensure simplicity. Three to four different types of meat, an onion, a carrot, a stalk of celery, and a dash of salt make up the most fundamental brodo di carne. Nothing else. It is extremely typical to add a tomato and a sprig of parsley to a broth. I use them frequently. On the other hand, occasionally you might see thyme, a bay leaf, peppercorn, garlic, clove, or nutmeg in original recipes. I even saw cinnamon used in a recipe. But as I already explained, simpler is preferable and more typical.

Preparation of Brodo di Carne

Here is the recipe. My broth recipe is very simple and straightforward. I do not do anything difficult or elaborate. In fact, the key to making meat broth with the best flavor is to use a range of meats. Let me help you prepare some Italian meat broth.

If you prepare it in a stockpot:

1. In a sizable stockpot, combine the salt, veggies, and all the meat. I typically add a veal bone as well as three to four different types of meat to this dish. In most cases, I use a quarter of a hen or stewing chicken (the thigh and leg are a wonderful choice), one piece of beef with a bone, such a meaty rib, and another cut of beef, like brisket, chuck, marrow, shin, shank, or cheek. To make sure you use meat that is organic, consider opting for ordering it via meal delivery services offering antibiotic-free and grass-fed beef. You should use harder meat cuts that need more time to cook. For an additional rich flavor, some people use beef tongue. Add enough water to completely cover, about three liters (quarts). Turn the heat down to low and bring to a simmer to maintain a modest bubble. Use a skimmer to catch the scum that accumulates on the surface. This is something you just have to perform at the beginning of the procedure.
2. After 3 hours of simmering, taste to see whether you want to further concentrate the flavors. When ready, drain the broth while keeping the meat for later use in other dishes. The vegetables can be discarded or used. About one to one and a half liters (quarts) of broth is ideal.

If you prepare it in a pressure cooker:

1. In your pressure cooker, combine all the ingredients with around 1 3/4 liters (quarts) of water. If using a stovetop pressure cooker, bring it to pressure, lower the heat, and cook it for an hour. Turn off the heat and permit natural pressure to escape.
2. When ready, drain the broth while keeping the meat for later use in other dishes. The vegetables can be discarded or used. About one to one and a half liters (quarts) of broth is ideal.

Meals to Prepare with Italian Broth

The fun begins now! What Italian dishes can you make with this delectable elixir of deliciousness? There are a lot of foods to consider. There are countless irresistible and fantastic Italian regional-based dishes where the broth is the “hero”. Instead of canned broth, use homemade broth to make the meals below. I will refer to dishes where a rich and lovely beef broth is one of the key ingredients, not soups or risottos that contain broth. Some recipes only require adding pasta to the broth and topping it with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, while others require a lot of work. Every level of cook, even if you are still a student, should be able to discover something tasty. To make things easier, I divided the material into sections labeled “easy”, “intermediate”, and “advanced”.
The dishes are listed below with their Italian names, a brief English description, and, if I know it, their country of origin. The recipes are included with their Italian names even though many of you will not understand the language because it is simple to find recipes for any of these foods online. 
Ready? Let us begin:

Easy

• Tagliolini in Brodo – broth with tagliolini pasta, topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano (Various regions).
• Garganelli in Brodo – garganelli pasta in broth, topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano (Emilia-Romagna).
• Sorpresine in Brodo – sorpresine pasta in broth, topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano (Emilia-Romagna).
• Minestra Friulana di Uova Filate – broth with cheese, an egg mixture of flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg that is placed in a piping bag and streamed into the soup, then topped with cheese when fully cooked (Friuli-Venezia Giulia).

Intermediate

• Scrippelle ‘Mbusse – crepes filled with pecorino cheese and served in broth (Abruzzo).
• Polpette di Ricotta in Brodo – ricotta balls served in broth (Calabria).
• Stracciatella con Polpettine in Brodo – similar to Roman stracciatella with the addition of little meatballs and sometimes veggies such as chard (Le Marche, Abruzzo, Puglia, Molise).
• Gnocchi di Pane di Brodo – bread dumplings served in broth (various regions).
• Celestine di Brodo – crepes cut into julienne strips and served in broth (Friuli-Venezia Giulia).

Advanced

• Anolini in Brodo – a cheese-filled pasta from Piacenza, or a meat-filled pasta from Parma (Emilia-Romagna).
• Spoja Lorda – a cheese-filled pasta square from the Romagna area (click the link for my recipe) (Emilia-Romagna).
• Agnolini Mantovani – a meat filled pasta from Mantua (Lombardy).

Tips

Your broth can be refrigerated for three days or frozen for up to three months. After three days, you may keep it in the fridge for a few more days if you bring it back to a boil, let it cool, and then store it that way.

You might practice removing all of the fat. I do not remove any of the fat when I am creating meals that call for a hearty broth! But, you do what you think is best...