Rosół: beef, chicken and duck broth

The supermarkets are clearing their warehouses, and I’m clearing my freezer. Sadly, I have to admit that quite a bit had accumulated, and, as we know, meat shouldn’t sit in the freezer for too long either. So on Friday I pulled out four pieces of meat at random (well, not entirely at random — more of a deliberate lucky dip).

I ended up with beef striploin (I’d once bought 250 grams and was only cooking for myself, so almost half went into the fridge), two chicken breasts (sometimes also called fillets 🙂 and a duck breast. I had one aim: meat for broth and for the main course over the weekend. So you could say that, almost by accident, I made a fairly classic rosół, a Polish clear meat broth. With beef and chicken, plus an interesting twist of duck flavour.

This classic sort of broth tastes a little different from the chicken-only broth I usually make. It certainly has a stronger, more intense flavour. I think it’s a little fattier, too. It’s definitely darker in colour as well (clearly visible in the photo of Ninka’s portion, with nothing added to it).

Most importantly, Nina enjoyed it as always. I have to admit that it’s the only soup she consistently likes, touch wood. So it was a broth-filled weekend, and what I fished out of the pot became very tender breaded pieces of meat (duck, chicken and beef — even the beef was tender). Nothing could be simpler. I coated the already tender meat in egg (first cutting it into pieces a few centimetres across), then in breadcrumbs. I fried it in olive oil, and it really was tasty.

I remember — and it’s a memory from my younger days that has stayed with me very strongly, even though it was so long ago, over 20 years — how my grandmother made broth. After the soup, there was always chicken for the main course: sometimes breast, sometimes a leg, which I loved back then. I remember that chicken meat being incredibly soft and tender. I’ll never forget my grandmother’s broth. I hope I never will. This meat, admittedly breaded and fried in olive oil (I don’t think my grandmother ever tasted olive oil), reminded me a little of that flavour. So I could tell Nina that it was a little taste of my childhood.

Unfortunately, that didn’t impress her particularly, and she didn’t eat the main course with the same enthusiasm as the broth. Still, I recommend the broth above all, of course, but also the meat, which can be put to good use.

At a glance:

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 2 and a half hours

Serves: enough for a Sunday family lunch

Calories: ask Grandma

Ingredients for a mixed-meat broth:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 100 grams of beef striploin
• 1 duck breast
• 4 carrots (medium-sized)
• 2 parsley roots (the white roots)
• 2 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 of a celeriac (a small one)
• 3 young cabbage leaves
• a 20 cm piece of leek (it can include some of the white part, but mostly the green)
• 2 teaspoons of Vegeta-style seasoning
• 3 litres of water

Recipe for beef, chicken and duck broth:

I washed the meat thoroughly. I poured about 3 litres of water into a large pot and put in all the pieces of meat (the whole chicken breasts, beef striploin and duck breast). I put the pot on the “heat” and waited for the water to boil. I cooked it over a medium “flame” (on my induction hob, about 5 on a scale of 1 – 10).

This is when you have to watch the broth and skim it. In other words, remove the protein foam that forms. It’s best to have a special slotted spoon ready and collect the “foam”. In my opinion, it’s best to skim for about 20 minutes, until protein has more or less stopped appearing on the surface of the soup.

Then I added the peeled carrots, parsley roots, celeriac, leek, shallots, garlic cloves and washed cabbage leaves to the pot. Finally, I add about 2 teaspoons of Vegeta-style seasoning. I turn the “heat” down by one setting and cook for roughly 2 and a half hours.

If any more “foam” appears on the surface during that time, I skim it off. When the broth is cooked, I take out the meat and set it aside in a bowl. The soup is ready.

I usually serve it with fine noodles (in 98% of cases; occasionally Nina wants it — yes — with rice). Sometimes I also add pieces of chicken breast taken out of the broth. Enjoy!