THE base of your soup should always be uncooked meat. To this may be
added, if you like, cracked bones of cooked game, or of underdone beef
or mutton; but for flavor and nourishment, depend upon the juices of
the meat which was put in raw. Cut this into small pieces, and beat the
bone until it is fractured at every inch of its length. Put them on in
cold water, without salt, and heat very slowly. _Do not boil fast at
any stage of the operation._ Keep the pot covered, and do not add the
salt until the meat is thoroughly done, as it has a tendency to harden
the fibres, and restrain the flow of the juices. Strain—always through
a cullender, after which clear soups should be filtered through a
hair-sieve or coarse bobbinet lace. The bag should not be squeezed.
It is slovenly to leave rags of meat, husks of vegetables and bits of
bone in the tureen. Do not uncover until you are ready to ladle out
the soup. Do this neatly and quickly, having your soup-plates heated
beforehand.
Most soups are better the second day than the first, unless they are
warmed over too quickly or left too long upon the fire after they are
hot. In the one case they are apt to scorch; in the other they become
insipid.