Pot-au-Feu a la Creole

Pot-au-Feu a la Creole

4 Pounds of Bean Beef.
6 Quarts of Cold Water.
1 Small Turnips.
2 Onions. 2 Carrots.
1 Parsnip.
1 Cup of Cut-up Tomatoes.
2 Whole Cloves.
1 Bay Leaf.
1 Clove of Garlic.
5 Allspice.
2 Irish Potatoes.

Small Piece of Lemon Peel. Small Piece of Red Pepper Pod. Bunch of Celery Leaves (Chopped). Bunch of Parsley (Chopped). Pinch of Salt. Pinch of Black Pepper. Sprig of Cabbage.

This Pot-au-Feu, properly made, is truly delicious, savory and delicately odorous. The best cut for this is from the lower end of the beef round. Many Creoles use the brisket in this soup. This is rich and juicy, and gives nutritive value to the dish. If delicacy is preferred to richness in the soup, the marrow bone is omitted. Put the meat into cold water, heating by slow degrees in order that it may gradually penetrate the meat, softening it and dissolving the non-nutritive portion, which rises to the top of the liquid as a scum. As the scum becomes thicker remove it. After having skimmed well set the soup back where it can be kept on a gentle but steady boil; when the soup is well skimmed, add the vegetables, which have been cut to proper fineness, and a little salt to suit the taste, and let the soup continue to boil from five to six hours, remembering strictly the two essential rules given. By following this recipe you will have an excellent soup.

The Creoles often serve the Pot-au Feu with small squares of dry or toasted bread, put into the tureen, and the hot soup poured over them at the moment of serving.

Should the flavor of the garlic, allspice, cloves or bay leaf be disagreeable, they may be omitted. But they are essential ingredients of the Creole Pot-au-Feu.

A particularly delicate flavor is often obtained by adding to the beef some pieces of raw fowl, or the remains of a cooked fowl, more especially the carcass. But never add remains of mutton, pork or veal, as these meats impart an acrid odor, detracting from the perfection of the Pot-au-Feu.