Beef Tea

Tod came home with a cold this evening, his first in many months. How fortunate for me that I’d just discovered the “Invalid” section in the old Argonaut Bookshop cookbook. I passed over the recipes for Fricasseed Brains (there were two different versions) and Treacle Posset, to settle on beef tea as a curative for tomorrow.
Standard Beef Tea
1/2 lb lean, juicy beef
1/2 pint water
salt (if allowed)
Wipe the meat with a damp cloth. remove skin, gristle and fat. Shred with a knife against the grain. Put into a jar with salt and water. Cover and let stand for half an hour to draw out the juices. Place the jar in a saucepan of cold water and slowly bring to a boil. Simmer for two or three hours. Stir and squeeze well. Strain through a coarse strainer and remove fat.
Quickly Made Beef Tea
1/2 lb lean, juicy beef
1/2 pint water
salt, if allowed
Prepare meat as for Standard Beef Tea. Place in a saucepan with salt and water and allow to stand for half and hour. Squeeze and stir well. Heat over a slow fire til a pale brown color, stirring and pressing well with teh back of a wooden spoon. Strain through a coarse strainer.
Raw Beef Tea
Half gill of water (70 ml)
2 oz meat
Prepare the meat as for Standard Beef Tea. Add the water and let stand for an hour. Squeeze well and strain.