Borshch With Beef And Pork Recipes

BEEF AND BEET BORSCHT

Steps:

• Cook beef shank in a large soup pot over high heat until browned, about 3 minutes per side; add water, onion, carrots, celery, and bay leaf to the pot, bring to a simmer and cook until meat is tender and falling off the bone, about 4 hours. Strain broth and discard solids.
• Combine beef broth, beets, and cabbage in a large soup pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until beets are tender, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low; add vinegar, salt, and black pepper.
• Serve garnished with sour cream and dill.

RUSSIAN BORSCHT

Steps:

• Place the first six ingredients in a large soup kettle or Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute beets in 1 tablespoon oil for 3 minutes. stir in vinegar; set aside. Remove beef with a slotted spoon; cool. Remove meat from the bones; discard bones. Cut meat into chunks; set aside. strain broth, discarding peppercorns and bay leaves. Skim fat. Add enough water to broth to measure 6 cups; return to kettle. Add potatoes, carrots, cabbage, parsley and beets. Bring to a boil., In a skillet, saute onion in remaining oil for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Sprinkle with flour; stir until blended. Whisk into soup. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. add tomatoes. process soup in small batches in a blender or food processor; pour into a large saucepan. Add beef; heat through. Garnish with sour cream.

A BETTER BORSCHT (BEET) SOUP

Steps:

• Place pork hocks in a stock pot and cover with 6 cups cold water (or enough to really cover them. Cover and place over fire until the hocks come to a boil.
• While this is coming to a boil, chop your onions, celery, carrots and beans.
• When the pot has boiled there will be a lot of foam at the top of the pot, Pour everything out and rinse the pot and meat well, then move to step 4. This is so that you don't have floaty things in the soup later (personally I often miss this step and don't mind the results at all). If you decide to miss cleaning everything just move straight to step 4 right away. Otherwise, you need to add 6 cups (or more, you need enough to cover them) clean cold water before step 4.
• Add the garlic, seasonings and the chopped vegetables.
• Bring the pot back to a boil, turn down and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the pork hock is loosened and tender.
• Remove the pork hock from the pot and cool. Return the stock to the fire and continue simmering until you've moved to the next step. While the pork hock is cooling, chop the potato and prepare the first four beets.
• To prepare the beets, peel them, cut them lengthwise in half (through the stem and top), turn cut side down and slice into 1/8" thin slices across the width of the beet. Lay the slices down and cut these into 1'8" slices across the width of the beet. This method gives the prettiest presentation.
• Add the potato to the pot and return the soup to a slow boil, then add the beet slices. DO NOT LET THE SOUP BOIL ONCE THE BEETS ARE ADDED OR IT WILL LOSE IT'S COLOR.
• While this is coming up to heat, clean the pork hock and return them to the pot. Make sure to get all the ugly bits and fat, but leave the meat as whole as you can, better to shred it in you bowl! Trust me!
• Leave this to simmer very slowly until the potato is cooked and the beets are tender. Meanwhile, chop the beet stalks (if they are tender) and the leaves; and peel and grate the final 2 beets.
• Add the peas and tops/leaves to the pot. When the peas are cooked add the grated beets (this is more to thicken the soup and add back any color that may have been lost before; and also DH loves the addition of shredded beat to this cause that's the way his mom made borscht). Continue to cook VERY SLOWLY.
• Once everything is tender you can finally add the dill and 1/2 teaspoon of sour salt. Tasting is important here, I usually add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of sour salt myself, but I prefer it a bit sour.
• I taste all the way through because I love the way the flavor builds, but it is very important at the end. Adjust the dill, salt and sour salt carefully, with some practice you'll find a soup that everyone loves.
• Add more water if this soup begins looking dry, but it is a thick soup so doesn't require a lot of broth - cream will be added at the table.
• You can park the soup overnight in the fridge and remove all the fat that rises the next day. This soup is excellent on day 1 but even better day 2, and healthier when the fat is removed.
• The broth shouldn't be sweet (the sweetness will happen with every bite) and it should have a bit of a sour tang (I like mine quite sour)and a taste of dill (and quite dilly). The soup SHOULD NEVER be salty because the meat may call for some seasoning in the bowl.
• This soup is better the next day, and may be put in jars and canned (10 minutes in a water bath) or frozen (but I find the beans go off when it's frozen so would leave them out in this case).
• Add sour cream or whipped cream at the table as a garnish. More fresh dill is pretty and tasty as well.
• Ask my friend Katlin - he loves this soup!

BORSCHT II

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, brown beef in oil. Stir in onion and water, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 2 hours, until meat is tender.
• Remove meat from broth and set aside to cool slightly. Stir carrots, celery, cabbage, beets, tomato juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper into broth. When meat is cool enough to handle, cut meat from bone and into bite-size pieces and return to soup. Simmer until vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

BORSCHT WITH BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325. Toss the short ribs with the salt, onion powder and garlic powder. Put a large cast iron dutch oven (one that has a lid) on medium heat on the stove, and add the olive oil. Sear the short ribs on all sides.
• Add the bone broth and herbs to the ribs, cover and place in the oven for 3 hours.
• Remove the short ribs from the braising liquid and add the apple, beets, cabbage, parsnip, carrots, water, and a couple pinches of salt. Stir to combine and add the short ribs back on top. Cover and put in the oven for another 45-60 minutes, until the vegetables and short ribs are tender. Be sure to scrape the fond from the sides and add it back into the soup. Lots of flavor there.
• Put one short rib into each bowl. Stir the vinegar into the soup, then ladle the soup into each bowl with the short rib. Add the coconut cream (or regular cream if you prefer) and fresh dill. Serve while still steaming.

BORSHCH WITH BEEF AND PORK

Steps:

• Combine the beef, pork and water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim thoroughly and reduce the heat to low. Add the rest of the stock ingredients, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer partially covered, until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Strain the stock, removing the meats. You should have 10 to 11 cups of stock. Discard the marrow bones. Cut the beef and the pork into 1 1/2-inch chunks, discarding the pork bones. Reserve the meats.
• While the stock is cooking, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Wrap the beets separately in aluminum foil and bake until a tip of a small knife slides in easily, about 45 minutes. Unwrap the beets, plunge them into a bowl of cold water, then slip off the skins. Grate the beets a 4-sided box grater or shred in a food processor, and set aside
• In a large, heavy soup pot, cook the bacon in the butter over medium heat until it renders its fat. Add the onion, carrot, and pepper, and saute until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the cabbage, and saute, stirring, for another 7 minutes. Add the stock, the potatoes, tomatoes, apple, and the reserved meats. Season with salt to taste, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the reserved beets and cook the soup over medium-low heat until all the vegetables are soft and the flavors have melded, about 25 minutes more.
• With a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic, pepper, and parsley to a paste and add it to the soup. (If you don't have a mortar and pestle, just use ground pepper, crushed garlic and minced parsley.) Stir in the vinegar and the sugar, adjusting the balance of sweet and sour, to taste. Let the borshch stand for 10 minutes before serving (or better serve the next day.) To serve, add a teaspoon of sour cream to each bowl and sprinkle liberally with dill and scallions. Instruct the diners to mix the sour cream well into the soup.