Homemade Beef Stock

By JimMac

Ingredients

• 8 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 6 sprigs fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 pound beef-stew meat, cubed
• 5 pounds veal bones, sawed into smaller pieces
• 4 large carrots, cut into thirds
• 2 large onion, quartered
• 4 stalks celery, cut into thirds
• 2 cups dry red wine (I used a reasonably priced Cabernet Sauvignon)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 450°. Tie all herbs together. Martha says to make a bouquet garni with cheesecloth, but she’s an overachiever. Seriously.
Arrange meat, veal bones and vegetables in a single layer in a large roasting pan. Roast, turning every 20 minutes, until the vegetables and bones are a deep brown, about 1 ½ hours.
Transfer meat, bones, and vegetables to a large stockpot and set aside.
Discard fat from the roasting pan, and place pan over high heat on the stove. Add wine, and use a flat wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits; boil until wine has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Pour all liquid into the stockpot with the bones.
Add 6 quarts of cold water, or more to cover the bones, to the stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Add the herbs. Simmer over the lowest possible heat for 3 hours. Discard the skin that forms on top of the liquid.
Strain the stock through cheesecloth or a fine sieve over a large bowl. Discard the solids and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
Stock may be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for 4 months. If storing, leave fat layer intact to seal the stock (I didn’t do this either.). Before using skim the fat layer off the surface.