Best Borshch With Beef And Pork Recipes

BORSHCH WITH BEEF AND PORK

Steps:

• Combine the beef, pork and water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim thoroughly and reduce the heat to low. Add the rest of the stock ingredients, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer partially covered, until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Strain the stock, removing the meats. You should have 10 to 11 cups of stock. Discard the marrow bones. Cut the beef and the pork into 1 1/2-inch chunks, discarding the pork bones. Reserve the meats.
• While the stock is cooking, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Wrap the beets separately in aluminum foil and bake until a tip of a small knife slides in easily, about 45 minutes. Unwrap the beets, plunge them into a bowl of cold water, then slip off the skins. Grate the beets a 4-sided box grater or shred in a food processor, and set aside
• In a large, heavy soup pot, cook the bacon in the butter over medium heat until it renders its fat. Add the onion, carrot, and pepper, and saute until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the cabbage, and saute, stirring, for another 7 minutes. Add the stock, the potatoes, tomatoes, apple, and the reserved meats. Season with salt to taste, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the reserved beets and cook the soup over medium-low heat until all the vegetables are soft and the flavors have melded, about 25 minutes more.
• With a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic, pepper, and parsley to a paste and add it to the soup. (If you don't have a mortar and pestle, just use ground pepper, crushed garlic and minced parsley.) Stir in the vinegar and the sugar, adjusting the balance of sweet and sour, to taste. Let the borshch stand for 10 minutes before serving (or better serve the next day.) To serve, add a teaspoon of sour cream to each bowl and sprinkle liberally with dill and scallions. Instruct the diners to mix the sour cream well into the soup.

VESELKA'S FAMOUS BORSCHT

Steps:

• To make the "beet water," roughly chop 2 pounds of the beets (select the smaller ones), preferably in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Place the chopped beets in a large stockpot. Add 10 cups of water and 1 tablespoon vinegar.
• Place the stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 2 hours. (If it seems like the liquid is evaporating too quickly, you may need to cover the pot partially with an offset lid.) The beets should be extremely soft and the liquid bright red.
• Strain the liquid, pressing the cooked beets against the side of the strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the pulp or reserve. Set aside the beet water. You should have just about 4 cups.
• Meanwhile, place the remaining 1 pound of whole beets in a separate large stockpot. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the beets are tender-firm, about 40 minutes. When the beets are cooked, add 1 tablespoon white vinegar and set them aside to cool.
• When the whole cooked beets are cool enough to handle, peel them; the skins should slip off easily. Grate the peeled beets on the largest holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the grating blade.
• To make the broth, place the pork butt in a large stockpot and add the beef stock. If necessary, add a little more stock or water to cover. Add the bay leaf, allspice berries, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the meat is tender and beginning to fall apart, about 2 hours. Set the pork aside to cool. When the pork is cool enough to handle, remove it from the pot and cut the meat into ½-inch cubes. Strain the broth and discard the bay leaf, allspice berries, and peppercorns. Reserve the cubed meat and 4 cups of the broth.
• To cook the vegetables, place the carrots and celery in a large stockpot and pour the reserved meat broth over them. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the carrots and celery are just tender, about 8 minutes. Add the cabbage and potatoes and continue to cook until the potatoes and carrots are easily pierced with a pairing knife but keep their shape, 15 to 20 additional minutes. Add the lima beans and cook for 5 additional minutes, just to meld the flavors. Gradually add the remaining 7 tablespoons white vinegar, tasting between additions and stopping when the flavor is to your liking. Remove the soup from the heat and set aside.
• To compose the soup, in a large soup pot combine the "beet water" and meat broth with the vegetables. Add the cubed pork and the grated beets. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer over low heat. Season to taste with salt and serve immediately.

BORSCHT

Steps:

• In 4-quart Dutch oven, place beef, pork hock, water, broth, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes or until beef is tender.
• Shred beets, or cut into 1/4-inch strips. Remove pork hock from soup; let stand until cool enough to handle. Remove pork from bone; cut pork into bite-size pieces.
• Stir pork, beets, cabbage, potatoes, onion and garlic into soup. Tie pickling spice and dill seed in cheesecloth bag or place in tea ball; add to soup. Cover; simmer 2 hours.
• Stir in vinegar. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Remove spice bag. Serve soup with sour cream. Sprinkle with fresh dill.

MOM'S BORSCHT

Steps:

• Brown ground beef in a medium frying pan or dutch oven. When beef is half-browned, add onions and cook until remainder of beef is browned.
• Add remaining ingredients to dutch oven, then add beef/onion mixture.
• Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-60 minutes, until vegetables are tender.