Soup/Stew/Chowder Beef Soup

beef soup
(from The Kentucky Housewife, by Lettice Bryan, 1839)

Ingredients:

leg of beef​

salt​

onions​

white potatoes​

turnips​

carrots​

tomatoes​

1 tsp. celery seed​

1 tsp. pepper​

parsley, shredded​

Instructions:

Good soup may be made of any part of a fine fresh beef; but the leg, or hock, is seldom used in any other way, and makes equally as good soup as any other part of the beef. Wash it clean, break it into two or three pieces, rub them with salt, and boil it slowly and steadily till they are very tender, carefully removing the scum, and keeping the pot closely covered. When they get about half done, put in some whole onions, white potatoes, turnips, carrots and tomatoes, and let them boil together till the whole is done. Then take them out, strain the liquor into a soup-pan, mash fine such of the vegetables as you wish to thicken your soup, and put them into the liquor, which should be about three pints in quantity. Add a tea-spoonful of celery seeds, one of pepper, and a handful of shred parsley; simmer them together a minute or two, and serve it up. Be careful not to season soups too highly with salt and pepper, as a lack of them can easily be supplied at table.​

a fine beef soup
(from The Kentucky Housewife, by Lettice Bryan, 1839)

Ingredients:

fresh beef, chef's choice of cut​

salt & pepper​

tomato catchup, or other type if preferred​

1/2 pint sweet milk​

crackers​

sprigs of parsley​

Instructions:

Take any part of a fresh beef you fancy; trim off every particle of fat, and boil the lean to rags, in a good quantity of water, carefully removing the scum, and keeping it closely covered, to prevent the flavor from evaporating. Pass the liquor through a sieve, to take out the bits of bone and meat, that may be in it, and put it into a soup pan, with enough salt and pepper to season it. Flavor it highly with tomato catchup, and any other kind you choose. Add two spoonfuls of flour, mixed in half a pint of sweet milk, with enough pounded crackers to thicken it, and boil them together a few minutes. Serve it hot, and put sprigs of parsley over the top.​

​

All soups should be introduced at the commencement of dinner.​

 

[CivilWarTalk]

plain beef soup no. 1.
(from The Housekeeper's Encyclopedia of Useful Information for the Housekeeper, by E. F. Haskell, 1861)

Ingredients:

shank of beef​

salt​

pepper​

1-1/2 tsp. flour​

summer-savory herb​

6 potatoes​

1/2 loaf stale bread​

2 large onions​

other vegetables as desired​

Instructions:

Procure from market a beef-shank, familiarly called a soup-bone; wash clean, and saw it nearly through the bone several times, and rub it with salt; after an hour put the bone into a kettle of cold water. A large shank will make six quarts of soup. If the soup is to be served the same day the bone is boiled, put it on by seven in the morning. Cover tightly, only lifting the lid to skim off the fat, which must be thoroughly removed before adding seasoning and vegetables. If the meat is to be used again, take it out before it boils in pieces; slip out the bone, and return it to the soup. Taste the broth before salting--it may have sufficient; always remember that pepper and salt can be added at table, but cannot so easily be taken out of too much is used. In seasoning dishes before serving, therefore, it is better they should lack than be overseasoned. Take out a bowl of soup and stir into it a heaping table-spoonful of flour, mixed with cold water, quite smooth; add pepper and summer-savory, if dried, finely powdered, and sifted. For six quarts allow six potatoes cut in chunks, about a half of a small loaf of bread, (when there is none on hand dry, which is better than fresh when fresh, cut the bread into chunks, and let the crust remain on each piece, put the potatoes and bread in the pot at the same time, allowing twenty minutes for them to boil; then cut finely two large onions, and add to the soup; cover tight, and take up as soon as the potatoes are done. It should only boil: if it does more, the bread will break in pieces, and thicken the soup too much. When the bone is boiled the day previous, remove the meat, and leave the liquor to become cold; the next day remove the fat and prepare the soup as directed. If the meat is boiled to rags, the liquor should be strained while hot, fat and all, through a wire sieve.​

beef soup no 2.
(from The Housekeeper's Encyclopedia of Useful Information for the Housekeeper, by E. F. Haskell, 1861)

Ingredients:

6 quarts of Plain Beef Soup No 1.​

pepper & salt​

a coffeecup of washed rice​

six potatoes​

three turnips​

two carrots​

three onions​

parsley​

summer savory​

Instructions:

Prepare the stock as already described in Plain Soup No 1. To six quarts of soup, seasoned with pepper and salt, put a coffeecup of washed rice, six potatoes, three turnips, two carrots, three onions, parsley, and summer savory.​

beef soup no. 3
(from The Housekeeper's Encyclopedia of Useful Information for the Housekeeper, by E. F. Haskell, 1861)

Ingredients:

Plain Beef Soup No 1.​

pepper & salt​

summer savory​

onion​

3 eggs​

flour​

parsley and celery (optional)​

Instructions:

Prepare stock as in No. 1; season with pepper, salt, summer savory, and onion; make a paste of three eggs, a little salt and flour as stiff as possible, roll it out as thin as wafers, let it dry two hours, then roll it up quite tight, and cut it in shreds; add it to the soup while boiling; let it boil fifteen minutes. Parsley and celery can be added if desired.​

beef soup no. 4
(from The Housekeeper's Encyclopedia of Useful Information for the Housekeeper, by E. F. Haskell, 1861)

Ingredients:

Plain Beef Soup No 1.​

pepper & salt​

summer savory​

2 onions​

1 carrot​

1 turnip​

1 quart chopped gombo​

1/2 teacup of macaroni​

parsley, and celery (optional)​

Instructions:

Make the stock as for No. 1; season with pepper, salt, summer savory, two onions, one carrot, one turnip, one quart chopped gombo, and one half teacup of macaroni, parsley, and celery, if relished.​

Notes: Gombo is the central african name for okra!

economy beef soup no. 5
(from The Housekeeper's Encyclopedia of Useful Information for the Housekeeper, by E. F. Haskell, 1861)

Ingredients:

leftover steak bones​

1/2 tbsp. shred gelatine (optional if bones are large)​

one onion​

pepper​

salt​

parsley​

summer savory​

1 tbsp. tomato catsup​

1 teacupful of washed rice​

3 potatoes​

crusts of bread or biscuit​

Instructions:

Take the bone left from steak boil it two hours skim off the fat add half a table spoonful of shred gelatine, one onion, pepper, salt, parsley, summer savory, a table spoonful of tomato catsup, and a teacupful of washed rice, then peel three potatoes, cut in halves or quarters, if very large; throw them in the soup, with crusts of bread or biscuit. If the bone is large, the gelatine can be omitted, it adds richness to the soup. This recipe is calculated to make three quarts with the vegetables.​

 

[CivilWarTalk]

soup, made from a beef's hock
(from American Cookery, by Amelia Simmons, 1796)

Ingredients:

1 beef's hock​

1 gill rice​

12 potatoes, peeled​

small carrots​

2 onions​

summer savory​

Instructions:

Let the bones be well broken. Boil five hours in eight quarts of water, then add one gill rice. Salt sufficiently. After three hours boiling add 12 potatoes pared, some small carrots and two onions. A little summer-savory will make it grateful.​