The recipe is from Le cuisinier François (edition Hyman, see bibliography), pp.1/2. For the English translation I have used for the most part the translation by T. Scully (see bibliography), except where the first and second editions themselves appear to be different (difficult to say, as Scully only offers the translation, not the original text, but even then his book counts 626 pages, so it’s understandable).
I have chosen to adapt the preparation. Instead of using a limited amount of liquid which is not reduced, I use more liquid and concentrate the stock after straining it. The translation by Scully, which is based on the second edition of 1652, shows that a ‘bouquet’ consists of parsley, chives and thyme (Scully, p.133, see bibliography).
Voor 4 liter bouilon; voorbereiding 5 minuten; bereiding 6 uur + zeven, inkoken, afkoelen.
500 gr magere runderlappen
500 gr schenkel en lappen van schaap of lam
500 gr soepkip (dat is een kwart tot een zesde hele soepkip, gebruik de rest voor kippenbouillon, gebruik géén kuiken)
bosje peterselie, bosje bieslook, takjes tijm
5 kruidnagels
4 liter water
Make a bouquet by tying the herbs together.
Place meat and herbs in a large pan. Add 4 litres hot water. Bring to the boil and simmer for four to six hours. Strain the stock, and reduce to two litres, then let it cool quickly. Now you can freeze what you don’t need immediately.
Do not forget to label your frozen stock, in the freezer all stocks look alike.
If you want a dark stock, first roast your meat and fowl for 30 minutes in an oven at 225 dgC/ 440 oF. According to La Varenne you should now extract the juice from the meat, which is described on p.127: Prick the meat with a knife, press the meat to extract the juice. Not everyone will have a meat press at hand. Just take two G-cramps and two firm boards. Put the meat between the boards and turn the cramps as tight as possible. Don’t forget to place a dish under it to catch the extracted juices.
If you want to use the stock for potage à la reyne make sure to make it from cooked meat, because the potage should be light-coloured.
The editions below were used by me. Links refer to available editions.
Recipe for Meat Stock from the 17th century
A French recipe for stock with meat and poultry by François Pierre La Varenne, from ‘Le cuisinier François’ (1651).
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