Best Ever Italian Beef Soup Recipe with Video (2024)

FAQs

How to add more flavor to beef soup? ›

If the soup is already made and you just want to deepen the flavour, try a shake of a pre-made sauce such as Worcestershire, brown sauce, barbecue sauce, soy or even kecap manis etc. For next time, more or better beef stock.

What is the best cut of beef for soup? The best cut of meat for beef soup is either a chuck roast, chuck shoulder, chuck-eye roast or top chuck – with chuck roast being my personal favorite. These are the most tender cuts.

How do you make soup with super tender beef? The ideal is actually to use a tough cut and use the low and slow cooking method to turn it into a tender mouthful. All of that connective tissue that dissolves in the long cooking process adds to the stock and thickening of the soup.

If you are adding meat to a soup, sear or brown it in a sauté pan before you add it to the soup. This adds a deeper savory flavor to the whole soup. This trick is especially useful for things like chicken and sausage, which can sometimes get bland and rubbery while floating in a brothy soup.

Adding umami-rich ingredients like tomato paste or a parmesan rind to the soup will add a deep, rich savoriness and body to the soup. (Here's what umami means.)

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says. The choice of ingredient depends on the recipe, though.

Some of our favorites are Dried Shallots, Dehydrated Red Bell Pepper, Dehydrated Green Bell Pepper, Tomato Flakes, Minced Onion and Roasted Garlic Flakes.

As a result, stock is usually a healthier product, delivering a richer mouth feel and deeper flavor than broth. Stock is a versatile culinary tool that can deliver taste to any number of dishes. Darker in color and more concentrated in flavor than broth, it's ideal for use in soups, rice, sauces and more.

Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Sage, and Bay leaves are the best dried herbs to use when cooking beef. To use dried herbs with beef, you should consider which ones you want to include in your recipe and when you should add them.

Using the wrong cut of meat.

The long, slow cook time leaves lean meat, like sirloin, tough and chewy, while tougher cuts, like chuck, break down and become really tender.

What liquid makes meat tender? ›

Saltwater brine “denatures” meats by encouraging the proteins to bond to more water. This helps explain how cuts of meat tenderized by brine typically weigh between 6 and 8 percent more before cooking. The brining process generally takes at least 30 minutes before the meat is tenderized.

In Chinese cooking, proteins like beef, pork or chicken are velveted first before stir-frying them. There are several ways to velvet, but at its most basic level, it involves marinating meat with at least one ingredient that will make it alkaline. This is what tenderizes the meat, especially cheaper, tougher cuts.

For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.

I usually use diced leftover roast beef and any au jus or gravy, which makes a nice beefy flavor. Mirepoix, tomato paste, and garlic sauteed together are good aromatics for the initial soup base. Beef Better than Boullion provides a decent broth.

Sufficient salt and pepper is usually enough! You likely just aren't using enough salt! You can use beef bouillon cubes to enhance flavor as well!

Vinegar – A spoonful of vinegar is a quick fix when you find yourself with a bowl of dull, flat-tasting soup. Just a small amount of acid will brighten up the flavors. 2. Soy Sauce – Soy sauce is another item that's ideal for brightening up and adding depth of flavor to an otherwise dull soup.

If your aim is to amplify the flavor of your beef, find a way to add other forms of it. You can opt for beef broth in your marinade, either on its own or in combination with other flavors (tomato paste or red wine are natural partners). Or, add more beef in the form of a beef bouillon cube.

Woody herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, tarragon, and marjoram release tons of flavor as they slowly simmer in stock. Give them a rinse and toss in a big handful of sprigs per quart of store-bought stock.