Making soup from scratch is unexpectedly easy – you just need to add the ingredients to a pot and let it simmer. However, small errors, like adding too much salt or putting all ingredients into the pot simultaneously, can negatively affect the taste and texture. If you’ve ever made soup and been disappointed with the result, you’re not alone. It can be frustrating to spend all that time only to end up with a soup that’s either too salty or too bland.
To create great soups this fall and winter, we asked professional chefs to share some of their cooking tips.
Mistake #1: Oversalting … or undersalting
A recipe that calls for one teaspoon of salt may not result in a perfectly seasoned dish. It’s more important to taste and season the food as you cook it, rather than following the recipe exactly.
If you’re making homemade soup, it can be tricky to get the salt level just right. This is because the soup will become more salty as it simmers and the liquid evaporates. Gradually adding salt throughout the cooking process is the best way to get the best results from our chef experts.
A chef at the hospitality company Restaurant Associates advised that salt should be added a little in the beginning, some along the way, and again at the end when the soup is almost done.
If you put in too much salt, there are some things you can do to fix it. According to Lisa Brooks, adding potato chunks to the soup and letting them absorb the salt is the best way to make the soup.
“This should work in most broth-based soups,” Brooks said. Gefen advises increasing the amount of liquid (such as broth) or fat (such as cream) if the soup already contains some. If you want to reduce the amount of salt in a soup that is already too salty, you can add more of the other ingredients that are already in the soup.
Mistake #2: Dumping in all your ingredients at once and not allowing flavors to build
Soup is made by simmering a bunch of ingredients in broth. You should not just throw meat and vegetables into some boiling liquid and call it a day. For example, if you are using onions, don’t just boil them in a pot.
According to Ben Goodnick, executive chef of Coastal Soups, onions should be sauteed before adding liquid. He recommends sautéing onions until translucent for a brothier soup, or browning them for a more heart soup. He said that the flavor is sweeter and more mellow when the coffee is made this way.
According to Gefen, the key to flavorful dishes is to first sauté the aromatic base ingredients (onion, garlic, carrots, celery, ginger) and then sear the protein (sausage, chicken, beef, pancetta, bacon).
The author suggests using thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf at the beginning of cooking for maximum flavor, then using parsley, basil, and cilantro at the end. She said that she sometimes uses the stems of parsed as a flavor booster early and the leaves towards the end.
Mistake #3: Not cooking it for long enough
The best soup is made slowly and on a low setting.
Gefen said that a gentle simmer is best because it gives all ingredients time to infuse flavors and create a balanced, delicious soup. There is no definitive answer to how long soup should be simmered for, as it varies depending on the ingredients.
Gefen says that vegetable soups can be ready in 45 minutes, while those with beans and legumes will take an hour to an hour and a half. Beef-based soups that are made with tougher cuts of meat usually take one to two hours for the meat to become tender.
“Gefen said that cooking the key ingredients slowly allows the flavors of all the components to be released into the liquids, creating a delicious dish.”
Mistake #4: Always leaving the lid on
The question of whether or not to cover soup while it is cooking depends on the soup. Gefen typically uses legumes in soups to prevent too much evaporation and end up with a soup that is too thick. She doesn’t cover most brothy soups and controls how much liquid evaporates by cooking over low heat.
According to Goodnick, leaving the lid off so water can evaporate makes the flavor more intense and concentrated.
Mistake #5: Cooking all the ingredients for the same amount of time
To make sure all the ingredients in your soup are cooked perfectly (with no crunchy potatoes or mushy carrots), add them to the soup in order of how long they take to cook.
Brooks stated that if she is making a seafood chowder, she begins by stewing the harder vegetables, such as potatoes. You can add any softer or frozen vegetables later, and the fresh seafood should go in last since it only takes a few seconds to cook.
Gefen said that pasta should be added first, because it takes longer to cook than legumes and pulses.
Mistake #6: Using the wrong cut of meat.
The filet mignon and marbled ribeye may look appealing, but there are other types of meat that you should consider as well.
Note that these are not for making stews. Using them would only waste them. These cuts are too luxurious and tender to simmer or braise. You will only have shrunken pieces of dried-up beef.
The dumplings will not look good in any bowl, even if there are vegetables around them.
Getting tougher, heartier cuts of beef are suitable. You need a lot of meat with a lot of collagen and fat. The following will break down and dissolve gradually during your slow cooking process.
What kind of meat to use in beef stew?
Look for a round roast (meat from the rear) or a chuck roast (front of the shoulder). This will result in flavorful, tender, and moist cuts of beef. I believe that chuck is the only meat that is good enough to be used in beef stew. And that is final.
These cuts of meat are both chewy if you cook them for just under an hour. Cooking the meat on a lower heat for a longer period of time will allow the fat and collagen to melt.
These will also tenderize the proteins of the meat. The addition of carrots also increases the body and flavor of the beef stew.
The added benefit: These cuts of beef are inexpensive. The cuts of meat that they have are much cheaper than the other options in the market.
Mistake #6: Adding in raw beef
Sear the beef. Searing always locks in flavor . This is what I have always practiced. My grandmother always used to remind me of it as I watched her cook.
If you use the same pot to sear meat that you plan to use for stewing, you can deglaze the bottom of the pot with water. This will lift the brown bits from the bottom of the pot and give the stew a richer flavor.
Trying to cook everything at once can be tempting, especially when you’re short on time. This is not a good thing. I’ve attempted to cook with a slow cooker before following recipes, however the meat didn’t have the flavor I was expecting. The flavor won’t be there at all.
What you should do:
- Take the chill off. Allowing the meat to reach room temperature before searing or browning lets the meat relax. Hence preparing its natural moisture to re-absorb into the muscle instead of being stuck between the meat’s fibers.
- Sear your beef cuts. This will add a deep, meaty, savory flavor to the beef stew. This is always the first step before braising meat.
- You can use a deep pot or a Dutch oven for searing. This will allow you to keep the brown bits after searing. Then, you can use the pot to make the beef stew.
- Overcrowding is one of the common mistakes to avoid when making beef stew. When searing, keeping medium-high heat is ideal. Keep the pieces of meat apart. Be sure to caramelize each meat cut side without cooking it inside.
- Removing the seared meat pieces will give more room for the other pieces of meat while searing. Just repeat until each beef cut is seared.
Why you should do this:
Caramelizing the meat adds extra flavor to the stew. As you pour the broth in, you can scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon. The flavor bits will add more flavor to the broth.
Using a slow cooker is convenient. You can sear the beef stew meat pieces in a separate pan if you want to. Even if it takes a little extra effort, making sure the beef stew turns out delicious will be worth it.
Make sure to deglaze the pan you used to cook with and pour all the flavors into the slow cooker. After adding the seared meat to the slow cooker, the cooking process will continue.
Mistake #7: Using plain water or salty stock
To make your beef stew or Calderata more delicious, infuse it with more flavor. The flavors must settle within the cuts of meat.
The flavors of meat in a beef stew are not concentrated on the surface like they are with steak or roast meats. When you add flavors to the liquid, it will make a big difference.
Below are some of the things you should watch out for:
Stock from the store can be very salty .
If you add a lot of salt to your beef stew, it will probably taste too salty. If you reducethe broth to thicken the stew, this can also happen.
The water will evaporate and make the broth concentrated. Unsalted or low-sodium broth is a healthier option than regular broth.
Plain water will not be enough .
Water will work, but it will not add flavor to the beef stew.
Beef stock substitute
If beef stock is not available, substitute mushroom, vegetable, or chicken stock. You can dissolve bouillon powder, paste, or cubes. Be mindful of the salt level.
Mistake # 8: Thickening the stew too much
Everyone imagines beef stew to be rich and silky. The broth must be smooth on the tongue. The thickness of the gravy must be just right. Do not add so much flour that the mixture becomes thick and pasty when it cools.
How to thicken beef stew
Some recipes use cornstarch or a combination of flour and water to thicken the stew’s broth.
The stew should not be too thick or too thin. This will dull the flavor of your casserole. If the stew is too thick, the umami flavor will be hidden.
Option 1
The beef broth should get thicker as it cooks. The collagen from the beef and the potatoes will add thickness to the stew. They will also add body to the broth.
Option 2
Sprinkling the beef cubes with flour will make the broth thicker. Coating the meat in flour before searing it can help create a crust and leave flour at the bottom of the pot to thicken the sauce. This type of thickening will not remove the texture or flavor.
Before you go, here are a few things to have in handy when you make soups, stews and chilis:
A soup-freezing tray
Souper Cubes are a great way to cook a large batch of soup and save some for later. They each hold a cup of soup, making it the perfect serving size. People are loving this silicone freezing tray and lid because it’s the perfect way to make soup.
An immersion blender
If you enjoy creamy soup, an immersion blender like the Mueller Austria is a must-have. The mixer comes with a hand blender, a whisk, and milk frother attachments.
An iconic cast iron steel stock pot
The 8-quart Le Creuset stockpot is durable, beautiful, and resistant to staining. The Le Creuset product is an investment, but it is easy to clean and has many uses, so it pays for itself. There are many different colors to choose from.
Leave a Reply