Homemade Beef Stock
Of all the things I prepare in the kitchen, I reckon stock has to be one of the most satisfying. It requires little effort, it uses up stuff you'd otherwise toss in the bin and it provides you with an extra ingredient that is, for me at least, becoming indispensable. More often than not I make stock on a Sunday after a lazy breakfast. I put on some music, make another cup of tea and start the familiar process or slicing, packing the stock pot and skimming. The type of stock depends on what bones I have stashed away in the fridge or freezer or whether I've been able to track some down at the market. Usually it's beef or chicken stock as I seem to use them most often, but lamb stock and fish stock have also been done in the past. Pork stock I haven't tried yet but it is definitely on the list.
I must admit I was sceptical at first as to whether the hours of slow simmering would be worth it. Would all that effort really make a noticeable difference to, for example, an oxtail stew when compared to just bunging in a ready made stock cube? Well, in my opinion the answer is an emphatic 'hell yes'! It adds a savoury depth to a dish without adding additional salt. If used as the basis for a broth then the difference is enormous. I still use ready made stock cubes when I have to and they are fine (some better than others) but the dishes or sauces prepared with the homemade stock really are a cut above the rest.
To make a couple of litres of fantastic beef stock you'll need the following:
- 2kg of beef bones
- About ten onions, ten carrots and ten sticks of celery (including the tops) - veg peelings kept in a tub in the fridge are also good here
- A couple of bay leaves
- Some parsley stalks
- A few peppercorns
- About 3-3.5 litres of water
- A pot big enough to fit all of the above
This is a good base but you can add in whatever else you fancy. In the past I've added fennel, a bouquet garni and leeks. Don't go mad as you don't want to overwhelm the beefiness, but play around a bit and see what works for you. Don't add any salt though.
Getting the stock on the go couldn't be simpler. You don't need to peel any of the veg, just give it a quick wash, chop it in half and set it aside. I usually roast half of the beef bones for about twenty minutes at 200C. You don't need to do this but it makes the stock a bit darker and certainly doesn't seem to hurt the flavour. That's the prep done.
Next I layer the bones and veg in a ten litre stock pot, tucking the parsley, bay leaves and any other bits and pieces into the gaps. When everything is packed in tight pour in enough water to just cover everything. This ought to take about three to three and a half litres.
Now comes the most critical part.
You can't let it boil. You can't even let it simmer. It needs to come up to a 'shudder'. That point where the surface is quaking and every few seconds a big belch bubbles up the surface. If it boils or simmers then it'll be ruined. I find a simmer mat or trivet is pretty handy at this stage. Once it's at that shuddering point you need to skim off any dirty white scum that floats to the top (it looks kind of like washing up bubbles). Sometimes there is quite a bit and sometimes almost nothing at all. After about half an hour the scum should stop appearing and you can just leave it alone. It needs at least 3-4 hours and 5-6 is better. It's not hard to leave it alone as the smell when it's cooking is sensational. They say you should bake a tray of cookies when trying to sell a house but the smell of beef stock on the hob would sway my opinion further.
When it is ready all of the liquid should be drained into a large bowl and set aside to cool. You should get about two litres of top quality beef stock. At this stage I usually put it in the fridge overnight to let the fat rise and solidify on top. This is then skimmed off and binned. The photos below show how much fat there is and without the final skim the stock can taste a bit greasy. The stock itself will be jelly like and can be frozen as it is (best split into batches) or reduced until concentrated and then frozen. I tend to do half and half so I have a bout a litre available for soup/ramen and a half a dozen deeply concentrated stock cubes for making sauces and dropping into stews.
Repeat the process every couple of weeks and you'll soon build up a nice reserve of top quality stock. Once it's sitting there the uses that present them self are almost endless.
