When Shelves Go Empty, These Soup Cubes Will Save You. 2 YEARS of Food for PENNIES

Presenter / source

• Caleb Yoder (farmer; channel not otherwise named in the subtitles).
• The talk references “older ways” of food preservation (canning, curing/drying, root cellars) but no specific external recipe source is cited beyond this method.

Cooking method: “soup cubes” (meat + onion + carrot blocks)

Key ingredients (quantities given)

• Bone-in, fatty meat (cheap cut) — quantity not stated
• Onion: 2, cut into big rough chunks
• Carrot: 1, cut into big rough chunks
• Hot water — “just enough” for grinding/blending; plus more if the mixture is too stiff
• Salt — “until it tastes right and good to you” (season to taste)

Equipment / prep setup

• Heavy pan (for hard browning)
• Grinder or blender (alternative: knife-chopping)
• Shallow pan / tray lined with paper to prevent sticking
• Foil or tight wraps for freezing/portion protection
• Freezer
• (Optional/implicit) sharp knife and cutting board

Technique alternative

• If no blender: chop very fine by hand (coarser texture is acceptable).

Step-by-step instructions (timings/technique cues)

1. Brown the meat hard (first, before anything else)

   • Use a good heavy pan that’s properly hot.
   • Brown on every face until you get a deep, dark, well-set crust (dark sear).
   • Do not rush or skip browning.
   • Result cue: browned surface that makes soup taste rich, not pale/flat.

2. Cook vegetables in the same pan (do not wash the pan)

   • Do not wash the pan; keep browned drippings and rendered fat.
   • Add 2 onions + 1 carrot (big rough chunks).
   • Cook until softened.
   • As they release moisture, they should lift stuck caramelized bits from the bottom into the food.

3. Rest the browned meat briefly

   • Remove meat and rest a few minutes before cutting.
   • Technique cue: resting helps juices redistribute so they don’t run out when cut.

4. Grind / blend the mixture

   • Cut rested meat small and combine with softened onions/carrot.
   • Grind/blend with just enough hot water so it moves and turns.
   • Texture target: smooth to near-smooth if machine-assisted.
   • If chopping by hand: mixture will be slightly coarser, which is fine.

5. Adjust thickness

   • Aim for a thick mass, like heavy cooked porridge—firm enough to hold shape when pressed.
   • If too stiff: add more hot water and work it back in.

6. Season with salt

   • Add salt to taste.
   • Concept cue: salt is for flavor—the blocks keep via the freezer/cold, not salt.

7. Portion into a tray and set

   • Spread mixture into a shallow pan lined with paper.
   • Make an even layer about ½ inch to 1 inch thick.
   • Freeze a couple hours:
     • Freeze until firm enough to cut cleanly, but not frozen hard like a “river stone.”

8. Cut into uniform blocks

   • Turn out the set slab and cut into small blocks.
   • Keep block sizes as consistent as possible so each block is roughly one portion (one block ≈ one bowl).

9. Wrap tightly and freeze

   • Wrap each block tightly (separate each block in foil or good tight wrap).
   • Purpose cues:
     • Reduce freezer burn (prevents dryness/leathery texture).
     • Prevent blocks from picking up freezer odors.
   • Freeze the wrapped blocks.

10. To serve (uses boiling water)

    • Take 1 block, unwrap, and pour boiling water over it.
    • Ready in about a minute:
      • Cue: thick, dark, steaming soup.

Serving concept: “rehydrate 1 cube” with boiling water → one bowl in ~1 minute.

Chef tips / common mistakes to avoid

• Use the “right” meat for stretching: choose cheap bone-in, fatty cuts (fat = flavor/calories; bone = marrow/richness; helps blocks hold together).
• Don’t skip the dark browning: under-browning leads to pale, thin, flat soup.
• Rest the meat before cutting to prevent juice loss.
• Do not wash the pan: reuse browned drippings and caramelized bits for flavor.
• Freeze only until sliceable: don’t freeze rock-hard so cutting stays clean.
• Freeze portions evenly:
  • Even tray layer → even matching blocks.
  • Similar block sizes → easier meal counting.
• Wrap tightly: prevents freezer burn and odor transfer.

Storage / “keeping” notes from the subtitles

• These blocks are freezer food and keep as long as the freezer stays cold and the cubes remain frozen solid.
• Freezing is presented as the preservation method (not salt).

Variations mentioned

• No blender available: chop by hand for a slightly coarser texture.
• Portion sizing strategy: cut blocks and treat each as a meal portion—more organizational than recipe variation.

Plating / serving suggestions

• Serve by rehydrating 1 cube:
  • Boiling water poured over a block → one bowl in ~1 minute.
• Emphasis: thick, dark, steaming soup made from real meat and vegetables.