Mrs. Seely's Cook Book: A Manual of French and American Cookery : with ..

The broth of the dish forms in France the foundation of all richer soups and gravies. Foured on fresh meat, it makes an excellent consommé. If properly managed, it is clear and pale. Poultry, pigeons, and even game may be boiled in the pot 80UP8 75 au feu. They should be properly trussed and stewed in the broth long enough to make them tender. A small ham also may be laid in with the beef when the water is first added. Boiled in this bouillon three or four hours, it is superior in flavor to a ham cooked in water, and the taste of the ham improves the soup. But the soup cannot well be eaten the day the ham is boiled, for it must be allowed to cool and be freed from the fat of the ham. In case you boil a salted ham in the soup, you will of course require no other salt. The ham should of course be freed from any rusty or blackened parts and washed perfectly clean. The French housewife begins her pot au feu soon after breakfast and puts the ingredients gradually in the pot. Thus by the end of the day and the independent cooking of the ordinary fire of the kitchen she has her most nutritious, toothsome, and substantial meal. One way to make it is this : For a large pot au feu take six pounds of good fresh beef, cut it up and pour on it four quarts of fresh cold water, set it over the fire, skim it when it simmers, and after it has come to a boil add a teaspoon of salt, some pepper, and half a pound of liver cut in pieces. Then add two or three large carrots, either sliced or grated, four turnips pared and quartered, eight young onions peeled and sliced in thin slices, two of the onions roasted whole, a head of celery cut up, a parsnip well cut up, six potatoes hand-sliced and quartered, tomatoes in season, and in short any appetizing vegetable. A bunch of sweet herbs cut small and absorbed by the dish or boiled and removed on serving also adds much to the savory compound. Let the whole continue to boil slowly and steadily for six hours. Serve by laying slices of bread in a tureen or deep platter, pour the stew or soup upon them, including not only the broth but the meat and vegetables. What is left in the tureen may go into the pot au feu for next day. For beef you may substitute mutton, venison, or other toothsome meats. Pot au Fon Take three pounds of lean beef, wind it about with twine to keep it from boiling to pieces, lay it in the soup pot, and pour over it about six quarts of fresh cold water. Set the pot over the fire and when the water begins to boil add two carrots, three onions, one having been stuck with three or four cloves, and in its season one turnip. To this pot au feu may be also added various bones and meats of the larder still sweet and holding their natural oils and flavors; for instance, a beef steak bone, or chicken head, etc. Let the soup boil slowly six or seven hours, then take it off the fire, strain, and set away in a dark, cool place. For immediate use take the lower part and every morning skim and bring it to a boil so that the supply from which you draw daily may not spoil. The meat of the pot au feu, which the French call boeuf bouilli and eat, is commonly served with the vegetables cooked with it and dressed with some piquant sauce, or egg sauce. Beef Broth