Today I made my monthly “throw everything leftover in a pot” soup. Into the stockpot went comfrey, carrots, all sorts of celery, fenel, onion, leek, cabbage, ginger, garlic, tomato paste and for the meaty part some leftover grilled porkchops. All chopped to small pieces, fried and finally cooked in lots of water with leftover veggi-stock and tons of other spices I had to get rid of (caraway, chili, sweet paprika).
A hearty dish for a cold friday night. But while I whittled the veggis I was asking myself: can I make a “hunter’s pot” from this soup? Obviously it is a big pot of soup and I’m on my own, but if I eat 2 meals a day I can half the thing in 2-3 days. It will be chilled over night and boiled every time it comes out of the fridge.
Will this this start to ferment at some point? Can I just blend the rest, throw in some fresh vegs, meats and water? Make a stew with all sorts of meat? Ideas?
It’s going to take time for the soup to heat up and cool down each time, and that’s a window for bacteria to grow. A true perpetual stew is never allowed to cool off, which is what makes it safe.
However, if you are interested in fermentation and pickling, there are absolutely ways to reuse the brine, and it’s typically done at room temperature.