Meat broth or brodo di carne in Italian is one of the most essential recipes in Italian cooking. It’s warming, nourishing, satisfying and soul-comforting.
It’s delicious to sip all on its own but it’s also one of the “secret” ingredients that take so many other dishes to a whole new level.
Contrary to a common belief, Italian Meat Broth is very easy to make. You’ll only need a few genuine ingredients and a couple of hours of slow simmering, that doesn’t require your constant attention.
Magic of homemade Italian Broth is in its simplicity. No flavor overpowers the other but they blend together to accentuate the hearty flavor of the broth.
Unlike other broth recipes, Italian Meat Broth uses a mix of beef and chicken.
What you’ll also love about it that you’’ll be able to use both liquid and the meat. In fact, if you make broth in the morning or the day before you’ll have a delicious broth AND dinner ready in just one pot.
Table Of Contents
Ingredients
Here's a detailed overview of the ingredients used in the broth and their possible variations.
Meat Varieties & Meat Cuts
You’ll need 3-4 different types of meat.
- 1-2 tough beef cuts from well worked muscles (chuck, shoulder, belly (flank steak)
- 1 piece of bone-in cut (short ribs, cross-cut beef shank,oxtail)
- ½ free range chicken/hen. You can also use whole chicken legs (thigh and drumstick).
Vegetables
There are just 3 vegetable that cannot be omitted in Italian Brodo. Everything else is optional and often times unnecessary.
- Carrot
- Onion (skin on or off).
- Celery
This is the classic and the most minimalist mix that is also used to make soffritto.
Optional Add-Ons:
- Tomatoes - a few cherry tomatoes or 1 ripe tomato cut in cubes will add a little acidity that balances sweetness of the onion and carrot. Also a sun-dried tomato can be used.
- Garlic - but don’t exaggerate - 1 or 2 cloves are more than enough
- Fennel - whole bulb or fennel fronds
- Potato - you can also add 1 or 2 potatoes but ONLY if you plan to serve meat from broth for dinner. This way you’ll have meat and the side dish cooked in one pot. However make sure to add potato 20-25 minutes before broth. Keep in mind that potatoes make the broth cloudy and a little denser. Depending on how you’re going to use the broth you might not need this kind of effect.
Herbs & Spices
Herbs and spices are also sort of extra - since the carrot celery onion base already provide a well balanced flavor. However adding a herb and just a few spices will give depth of flavor.
A lot of times Italian nonnas won’t add any salt to the broth as it cooks and only add it when the broth is used in the recipe. I find a little salt is necessary both for the flavor of the meat so as for the broth itself. I simply under-salt it and add more if needed.
- Bay leaves
- Pepper corns
- Salt
Extra herbs and spices you can include are cloves, parsley (use a few whole sprigs or a small bunch of stems only - you can use green leaves for other recipes or simply freeze), fresh sage, rosemary, thyme or marjoram.
How To Make - Step By Step
- Start by washing all the vegetables. Peel carrot and onion and cut each in half. I like to cut the carrot lengthwise to extract the most flavor.
- Wash, peel or trim any other vegetables you plan to use for the broth. Set them aside.
- Pluck chicken to clean any remaining feathers. Run all the meats under cold running water.
- Put everything in a pot except chicken, parsley and salt.
- Cover with 3-4 quarts (liters) of cold water.
- Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam/froth as/if it comes to the surface.
- Cover with a lid and let simmer on low heat for 2 hours.
- Past that time add chicken and parsley sprigs.
- This is also the time when you should add salt to taste.
Keep in mind that it’s best to use less salt and add more if needed than end up with too salty broth AND meat.
NOTE: Depending on the type of chicken meat you used add chicken only after 2 hours into cooking as chicken requires less cooking time.
If you cook chicken the same time as the beef it will be overcooked and will “melt” in the broth. If you’re not sure of chicken cooking time and you plan to consume its meat you can add all meats together, than after 45-60 minutes check chicken for doneness.
Depending on the result either remove it from the broth or continue cooking for a little bit more.
Cook on slow simmer for another hour or so.
Remove the meat and strain the broth. You can also reserve the vegetables and serve them together with the meat for dinner.
5 Secrets For The Best Homemade Broth
- Use a variety of meat cuts for the best flavor (at least 1 meaty and 1 bone-in cut and a part of free range chicken.
- Cover meat and vegetable with cold water. This will allow and the flavors and juices inside the meat and vegetable flow into the broth.
- Simmer on very low heat for at least 2.5-3 hours.
- Keep the lid on to prevent excessive liquid evaporation.
- Use most fresh meat & vegetables you can find.
How to make lighter broth
The broth cooked as described in the recipe will be flavorful and rich due to the natural meat fat “melted in the broth’. If you want to make lighter broth you can easily de-fat it after cooking and refrigerating.
To do this, once the broth has cooled to room temperature, then place in the fridge for 3-4 hours. You can partially or fully skim off the fat that has solidified on the surface.
How To Use It
Brodo or Italian Meat Broth is an essential ingredient to make vegetable and meat-based risottos. Homemade broth also adds incredible depth of flavor to numerous Italian soups and stews.
Some dishes simply cannot not exist without broth. Broth or brodo is a protagonist is such dishes as Passatelli in Brodo, Pastina Soup and of course, Tortellini in Brodo.
How To Serve Meat From the Broth
The easiest and most classic way to serve cooked meat from the broth is with simple mayo, pickles (yes!) and vegetables that were also cooked in the broth.
As mentioned above, you can add a few extra veggies if you plan this dinner in advance.
Recipes Using Meat Broth
- Passatelli In Brodo
- Pastina Soup {Pastina In Brodo}
- Graganelli In Brodo
- Minestrone Soup - classic recipe for all seasons.
- Garmugia {Spring Soup from Tuscany}
- Risotto - homemade broth will enhance 10x any of your favorite risottos.
Storage Suggestions
Meat broth can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you need to store it for longer, place it in zip-lock bags or freezer-friendly containers and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Make sure to pour the broth in the container only once it has completely cooled.
When you need to use the broth for the recipe simply leave it to thaw on a kitchen counter. To accelerate the process you can put it in warm water. This works especially well with broth frozen in zip-lock bags.
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Full Recipe
Italian Meat Broth - Brodo Di Carne
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound beef , 1 or 2 meaty cuts (chuck, shoulder flank steak) - about 700 grams
- ½ pound beef bone-in cut short ribs, beef shank or oxtail, about 250 grams
- 1 pound chicken legs or ½ stewing hen , about 400 grams
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 2 celery ribs
- 3-4 whole peppercorns
- 3 bay leaves
- 2-3 sprigs parsley
- 3-4 quarts water 3-4liters
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Start by washing all the vegetables. Peel carrot and onion and cut each in half. I like to cut the carrot lengthwise to extract the most flavor.Pluck chicken to clean any remaining feathers. Run all the meats under cold running water.
- Put everything in a pot except chicken, parsley and salt.Cover with 3-4 quarts (liters) of cold water.1 ½ pound beef, ½ pound beef bone-in cut, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 2 celery ribs, 3 bay leaves, 3-4 whole peppercorns
- Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam/froth as/if it comes to the surface.
- Cover with a lid and let simmer on low heat for 2 hours.
- Past that time add chicken and parsley sprigs (see notes below).This is also the time when you should add salt to taste. Keep in mind that it’s best to use less salt and add more if needed than end up with too salty broth AND meat.1 pound chicken legs or ½ stewing hen, 2-3 sprigs parsley, Salt
- Cook on slow simmer for another hour or so.
- Remove the meat and strain the broth. You can also reserve the vegetables and serve them together with the meat for dinner.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is interesting how our moms and grandmother were always making homemade broth without ever thinking twice.
I hope that with this easy Italian meat broth recipe, we can bring back this somewhat old-fashioned tradition in many homes.
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