Ingredients
- 5 5 5 pounds or so of Beef Soup Bones – meaty bones with marrow, adding a few veal bones gives a wonderful thick consistency
- Your favorite veggie scraps (if you save the scraps in your freezer, you can make stock once your bag is full)
- Water
- 2 2 2 T Cider Vinegar
- 2-3 2-3 2-3 Bay Leaves
- Optional – black peppercorns
Preparation
Step 1
Rinse and pat the bones dry.
Roast them at 400 ° F for about an hour until they are well-browned. If you used big chunks of veggies instead of scraps, roast them with the bones.
Drain the fat from the pan and deglaze with a little water. Add the deglazing water to the stock pot with the bones, and your veggies or scraps.
Add water to cover and bring to a simmer. It’s best not to boil beef stock. Add the vinegar and bay leaf and simmer for 4 – 12 hours. It’s up to you. Longer is great for beef stock, but it will be delicious after four hours.
Skim the scum that rises to the top every now and then – about every 30 minutes - and if you need to add water if it is evaporating too quickly, do so. If you are suspicious because there is no salt, taste it right before straining and add a little if you absolutely have to.
Strain the stock through a fine mesh colander lined with cheesecloth. Set the pot or bowl in the fridge to cool so the fat rises to the top and is easy to remove and discard.
Ladle the delicious stock into the container of your choice – I like freezer containers. If you like to put things up in jars, that will work well for stock.
It will thin as it is reheated. Try caramelizing some onions and mushrooms. Then heat them in a cup of stock for a nourishing meal.