The good news is that I had one of those food epiphanies - soup stock comes from bones? I hadn’t connected the dots before. (So why was mom simmering that turkey carcass? Never bothered to ask.) The bad news is that I hadn’t the faintest idea what I was doing; I dutifully went to my local butcher, begged some beef bones, and boiled them for hours with a rolling boil until the bones were practically disintegrating. Then I removed the bones, added lentils and salt, and ate it. For those of you unfamiliar with the process of making stock, this is not the way to do it. (Granted, if you are calcium deficient and don’t care about the taste of your soup, or the grittiness, it is edible.)
How to Make Beef Stock
The trick with stock is to roast the bones first to get some caramelized flavor going, then to slowly heat them in water until a bare simmer, and then let them cook that way, gently, for a good long time. With beef stock, it helps to include some beef scraps or stew meat, as well as aromatic vegetables and herbs. Also, a few veal bones will help provide gelatin to the stock.
Making Your Own Beef Stock
If you make a big batch and freeze it, you may save some money. But the main reason is that you’ll get a richness of flavor and texture in your homemade stock that you just can’t buy at the store. Stock is made from bones and cooked long and slow to extract flavor and nutrients from the bones and any meat and fat left on them. Sometimes vegetables and chunks of meat are added, too, but not always. Stock also has no or minimal salt. If you taste stock after it’s made, you may think it has little flavor or the flavor is “off”, but don’t fret. Its flavor will perk up when you add salt to the recipe you use the stock in. Meanwhile, broth is traditionally made using meat, vegetables, and seasoning. Because it already has seasoning, it’s more palatable when consumed straight. If you use broth as an ingredient in a recipe, remember the broth is already seasoned when you add salt.
Storing or Freezing Beef Stock
Refrigerate beef stock for up to 1 week. Leaving the layer of fat that forms on it on top of the broth once chilled will add a protective layer against bacteria while the stock is in the refrigerator. Freeze stock for 3 to 5 months in freezer safe, zip top bags or freezer safe canning jars (leave an inch of room at the top for expansion as the broth freezes). Freeze in recipe-ready amounts. If you have a little remaining, freeze the stock in ice cube trays. Once frozen, put the frozen beef stock cubes in a zip top bag for use when a soup or stew needs just a little more liquid or flavor.
Try These Recipes That Use Beef Broth!
French Onion Soup Easy Wok-Kissed Beef Pho Instant Pot Guinness Beef Stew Sous Vide French Dip Sandwiches Salisbury Steak With Mushroom Gravy
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. Pour the browned bits and water into the stockpot. 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. (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.) 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. 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.
