Beer Beef Tea with Hops Spears
This very hearty soup is perfect after a hard night, says Chef Wilhelm Schnattl. It is essentially an extract of beef, strong with the beef flavor. The hops garnish is interesting, but if you can’t find hops — difficult in North America — baby green onions with the tops trimmed short could substitute. The real surprise is the raw beef used in the final preparation. This is beef fillet, not ground meat; properly handled, it should be safe.
Ingredients
- Beef Shoulder - 1 lb
- Salt - To taste
- Black peppercorns - 1 tablespoon, crushed
- Malt Beer - 1/2 cup
- Vegetable Stock - 1 cup (alt. beef stock)
- Beef fillet - 1/2 pound
- Hops sprouts - 1-1/2 cup, blanched (alt. 20 baby green onions, tops trimmed short)
- Beef stock - 1/4 cup
- Salt - To taste
Instructions
Trim the beef shoulder and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Season the diced beef with salt and peppercorns. Add the beer and stock. Put the mixture in a large Mason jar or similar sealable container. Apply the rubber gasket and seal the top. Fill tasteamer or double boiler with hot water half way up the sides of the jar and place over medium-low heat. Keep the water just below boiling. Let poach for 1 hour. Using hot pads over your hands, remove the jar and dry the outside. Open and unseal carefully. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve, then strain again through a fine-meshed sieve lined with 2 layers of damp cheesecloth.
To prepare the garnishes: Saute the blanched hops spears for 1 minute in the beef stock in a small saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Remove, drain on paper towels, and season lightly with salt. Slice the raw beef fillet into 24 very thin medallions.
To serve: Wrap 12 hops spears in one beef medallion apiece. Put three wrapped hops in each warmed soup plate. Overlap three beef slices next to the wrapped hops in each. Divide the remaining hops spears and place in the soup plates near the beef medallions. Carefully the soup into the bowls.
