Re: Borscht - Beef

On 2025-02-05, ItsJoanNotJoAnn <ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net> wrote:

On Wed, 5 Feb 2025 12:50:19 +0000, fos@sdf.org wrote:

 

am making borscht for the first time this weekend. picked up
some short ribs for it last night. when i make beef stock for
anything including canning it, i brush some tomato paste on the
beef product and roast it at 450F-sh until browned to
satisfaction. should i do the same for borscht?

 

Report back with your results.

 we were very satisfied how it turned it out. read quite a few
recipes and got one from an internet friend in Ukraine. got it
just about right right out of the gate. biggest thing is to use
fresh beets. i live in a rural community and went to four
different stores looking for fresh beets and came home with a
box of pre-cooked Love beets. damnit. while those are ok for a snack,
they don't have enough flavor to stand out in a soup unless they
are the only ingredient. also, will add a bit more garlic next
time.
 -----------------------
broth ingredients;
1.5 lbs beef short ribs (4 pieces)
2 stalks celery, no leaves, 2 inch pieces
1 carrot, 2 inch pieces
half onion, chopped
10 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
3 tbs tomato paste
4 qts water
1 tsp salt
 bones down, coat short ribs with nice layer of tomato paste and
roast at 450F for 30-40 minutes until satisfactorily browned. add
roasted ribs and rest of ingredients to water and simmer for 4
hours. reserve meat and shred, discard rest of solids, strain.
return broth to pot and season with salt.
 soup ingredients:
2 medium beets, peeled and grated (no Love beets ever again grr)
3 medium potatoes, diced
2 medium carrots, grated
1 large onion sliced
1/2 head cabbage fine chopped (16oz container very tightly packed)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
3 tbs tomato paste
shredded short rib meat
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbs grapeseed oil
  according to Ukrainian internet friend, adding the ingredients in
this order is the traditional way of doing it;
 add meat, potatoes, beets, bay leaf to broth and simmer to nearly
finished. we added the beets around when the potatoes were half
done since they were pre-cooked.
 brown tomato paste in oil, add onion and carrots, saute until
caramelized, add garlic saute a couple more minutes.
 when potatoes and beets are done, add sauteed veggies and
cabbage and cook 10-15 minutes until cabbage is done.
 remove bay leaf and add lemon juice. serve with a dollop of sour
cream and parsley. most recipes i saw called for dill, neither my
wife or are fond of it and used parsley instead.
  photos;
 roasted short ribs:
<https://wm.sdf.org/gallery/displayimage.php?album=1029&pid=27309>
 soup ingredients (i used half that cabbage);
<https://wm.sdf.org/gallery/displayimage.php?album=1029&pid=27311>
 plated soup;
<https://wm.sdf.org/gallery/displayimage.php?album=1029&pid=27310>
   only changes we'll make are use fresh beets and double the
garlic. this is a hearty flavorful recipe. :)