Home cooks don’t always have every ingredient in a recipe, so they make do with what they have. You can always use the internet to look up ingredient substitutes.
But what about mixing flavors that rarely go together? For example, if you don’t have enough chicken broth or beef broth, can you mix chicken and beef broth together?
You can mix chicken meat and beef broth together. However, just be careful if you do, as they are two different meat-based flavors, meaning the final outcome may be different than what you expected.
To test out the flavor, mix chicken broth and beef broth together in a small pot and boil for a few minutes.
Many people would rather compensate for the lack of beef broth or chicken broth with water than with another type of meat flavor broth.
If the dish you are cooking is for guests, we suggest not mixing chicken broth and beef broth together.
If you don’t have enough broth, just add extra water and seasonings.
Can You Mix Chicken and Beef Broth?
So you’re making a delicious beef stew! You’re ready to brown the beef and reach into the fridge and realize that you don’t have any beef! But you have a packet of defrosted and ready to cook chicken.
You don’t want to waste the chicken and you don’t want to run to the market and buy some more beef.
So what should you do in this situation? Can you mix chicken meat in a beef broth-based stew?
It may seem odd to make two different flavors together, but mixing chicken meat and beef broth is not as strange as it sounds. There are several recipes online that require both chicken and beef broth. Also, it is a unique way to flavor the chicken.
But some people, especially those people with sensitive palates, may not like chicken meat that is flavored with beef broth.
If you have not added the chicken into the dish yet, consider cooking the chicken meat and the beef broth dish separately. Cook the beef based dish however you normally would but without the meat.
Then, serve the dish with beef broth and the chicken separately. Anyone who wants chicken in their beef dish can simply add it to themselves and the other people who do not want it can eat them separately.
Can You Mix Chicken Broth and Beef Broth?
Now we can understand adding chicken meat to a beef broth, but what about mixing chicken broth and beef broth?
I think most people would rather mix chicken broth and water or beef broth and water than mixing chicken and beef broth together. So why would you mix chicken broth and beef broth?
Taste Test the Broth Mix!
The only way to find out if you like beef broth and chicken broth mixed together is to try it.
There are two major ways to mix chicken broth and beef broth together: by combining the canned or boxed broth together, or by mixing beef and chicken bouillon powder together.
Canned or Boxed Broths
The next time you have both types of broth in your fridge, combine equal parts of each broth in a small saucepan and heat them together.
After a minute of cooking the broths on the stove, give the broth a quick stir and taste it.
If you dislike the taste of chicken/beef broth, try heating the mixed broth for 10 mins instead of one or two minutes. Some foods taste better when they have been cooking for a while.
If you don’t like the taste of the broth after ten minutes of cooking, then you just don’t like it.
Beef Bouillon and Chicken Bouillon
If there is no canned or boxed broth in your cupboards, then you can mix beef and chicken bouillon to test the final flavor.
For most types of bouillon, you must mix 1 tablespoon of powder with 1 or 1 ½ cups of water.
So when you mix a tablespoon of beef bouillon and 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon, mix them together and add three cups of water.
Heat the beef/chicken bouillon on the stove for a few minutes so the broths can melt together.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then let simmer for a few minutes.
Odd but Delicious Food Combinations
As we said before, it is not so common to mix chicken and beef broth or chicken meat and beef broth.
But if you mix them in the right way, then you may find that the resulting flavor is complex and savory.
So what are some other food combinations that you would not think to put together, but are common around the world and delicious?
- Melon and ham – this food combination may be strange in some countries, but it is extremely popular in Italy.
The sweetness of the melon and the saltiness of the prosciutto ham creates a unique flavor compound. - Butter and soy sauce – This ingredient combination is so surprisingly good, there is an article dedicated to butter and soy sauce in the New York times. The savoriness of the butter mixes well with the umami flavors of the soy sauce. You may want to try out this food combination next time you make fried rice.
- Potato chips in your salad– Some salads are unbelievably boring and flavorless. By adding potato chips to a salad, the salad will be crunchy and stimulating to the palate. The salt in the potato chips can bring out any subtle flavors in the salad.
- Hot sauce and mayonnaise – a perfect combination if you would like to add a little spice to your sandwich or potato salad.
- Avocado and chocolate – by combining these two ingredients with a few others, you can make diabetic-friendly ice cream!
Conclusion to Mixing Chicken Meat and Beef Broth
It is fine to mix chicken meat and beef broth or beef broth and chicken broth together. But some people may not like the flavor.
When mixing beef broth and chicken broth, watch out for the amount of sodium in each of the broths. When you purchase beef broth or chicken broth from the supermarket, choose the low sodium versions.
That way, you have better control of the salt in the dish. Plus, you can always add salt later if there is not enough.
