How to Make Beef Stock
January 10, 2023 • 0 comments
Here's how to make beef stock for soups, stews, and other recipes by roasting marrow bones and simmering them with aromatic vegetables and herbs.
Recipe Credit:https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_beef_stock/
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Servings: 16
Ingredients
- (4-5 lbs) Beef Soup Bone
- (1 lb) Beef Cubes
- Olive Oil
- (1-2) Onions
- (1-2 Large) Carrots
- (1 Rib) Celery
- (2-3 cloves) Garlic
- Parsley
- (1-2) Bay Leaves
- (10) Peppercorns
Directions
- Preheat the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Roast the meat, bones, and vegetables:
- Rub a little olive oil over the stew meat pieces, carrots, and onions. Place stock bones, stew meat or beef scraps, carrots and onions in a large, shallow roasting pan.
- Roast in oven for about 45 minutes, turning the bones and meat pieces half-way through the cooking, until nicely browned. If bones begin to char at all during this cooking process, lower the heat. They should brown, not burn.
- When the bones and meat are nicely browned, remove them and the vegetables and place them in a large (12 to 16 quart) stock pot.
- Add hot water and scrape up the browned bits:
- Place the roasting pan on the stovetop on low heat (will cover 2 burners). Pour 1/2 cup to 1 cup of hot water over the pan, and use a metal spatula to scrape up all of the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Pour the browned bits and water into the stockpot.
- Add vegetables, water, bring to a low simmer:
- Add celery tops, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, and peppercorns to the stock pot.
- Fill the stock pot with cold water, to 1 to 2 inches over the top of the bones. Put the heat on high and bring the pot to a low simmer. Reduce the heat to low.
- If you have a candy or meat thermometer, the temperature of the water should be between 180° and 200°F (boiling is 212°F). The stock should be at a bare simmer, just a bubble or two coming up here and there. (You may need to put the pot on your smallest burner on the lowest temp, or if you are using an oven-safe pot, place it in the oven at 190°F.)
- Cover the pot loosely and let simmer low and slow for 3 to 6 hours.
- Do not stir the stock while cooking. Stirring will mix the fats in with the stock, clouding up the stock.
- Skim scum and fat:
- As the stock cooks, fat will be released from the bone marrow and stew meat and rise to the top. From time to time check in on the stock and use a large metal spoon to scoop away the fat and any scum that rises to the surface.
- (Do not put this fat down your kitchen drain. It will solidify and block your pipes. Put it in a bowl or jar to save for cooking or to discard.)
- Remove solids and strain:
- At the end of cooking time (3 hours minimum, 6 to 8 hours if you can do it) use a slotted spoon or spider ladle to gently remove the bones, chunks of meat, and vegetables from the pot and discard. (If you see a chunk of marrow, taste it, it's delicious.)
- Line another large pot (8-quart) with a fine mesh sieve, covered with a couple layers of cheesecloth if you have it.
- Pour the stock through the sieve to strain it of remaining solids.
- Chill.
- Let cool to room temperature then chill in the refrigerator.
- Once the stock has chilled, any fat remaining will have risen to the top and solidified. The fat forms a protective layer against bacteria while the stock is in the refrigerator.
- If you plan to freeze the stock, however, remove and discard the fat, pour the stock into a jar or plastic container. (You can also remove the fat, and boil the stock down, concentrating it so that it doesn't take as much storage space.) Leave 1 inch head room from the top of the stock to the top of the jar, so that as the stock freezes and expands, it will not break the container.
