Beef Stock 101

AllenOK

New member
This is a repost of a thread I started a couple years ago over on DC. Since I'm cursed with dailup, I'm just going to link the pics. You can click on each link and view them as you wish. I linked the pics to appropriate spots within the recipe. I'll try to add new pics the next time I make a batch, but that might be Fall 2009 or later. Here's the recipe:

Basic Beef Stock
Yields: about 2 gallons concentrated stock

Some connective tissues, like cartilage and ligaments, consist of collagen, which breaks down under moist heat cooking into gelatin. Other connective tissues, like a backstrap tendon, are made of elastin, which does not break down when cooked. You’ll see that I indicate using as much connective tissues as possible, as they will dissolve out into the stock and provide superior body and texture. You want to look for “soup bones” that actually have a “knuckle” joint with lots of cartilage showing. You may have to special-order these from a butcher. In a pinch, oxtails will work, as they have lots of cartilage as well.
Also, if you roast a large piece of beef on a regular basis, you will find that some gelatin will render out from the connective membranes in the roast as it sits. If you let the roast sit, covered, on a platter in the refrigerator overnight, you should find a dark brown gel around and under the roast. This is the gelatin. When I find some, I try to freeze it until I make my next batch of beef stock, and throw it into the stockpot with all the other goodies.
Finally, you will note that I do not start with cold water when I begin to simmer the stock. Since I've roasted the bones, they are already cooked, and any serum/blood present will have already coagulated.

Beef bones and scraps, approximately 4#, with as much cartilage as possible
1 - 2 large onions, quartered, with skin
6 stalks of celery, cut into 4” lengths
4 - 6 carrots, cut into 4” lengths
One 6 oz can tomato paste
Hot water
An 18 - 22 qt stockpot
A half-gallon sized pitcher
Something that can withstand hot fat
A 16 qt stockpot, or other large containers to hold hot liquid in
One 2 liter soda bottle, label removed, and washed inside and out
One bag of ice
Ice cube trays

Fill the soda bottle with cold water and freeze it solid. I usually do this a day or so before I make the stock.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the bones, onions, celery, and carrots into a roasting pan or a large, preheated, cast iron skillet. Roast these in the oven for 30 - 45 minutes, or until they start to caramelize. Remove from the oven, and add the tomato paste. Stir until everything is lightly coated. Return this to the oven and roast another 30 minutes, or until the tomato paste has caramelized.
Once the bones and vegetables are caramelized, remove them from the oven and place them in the large stockpot. Cover with hot water, and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook gently until all the cartilage has dissolved into the stock, 24 - 36 hours. You’ll know it’s done when the cartliage is gone, and the bone that forms the moving surface of the joint actually separates from the leg bone. (Editor's Note: I didn't actually get a pic of that. In picture beefstock05jd5.jpg, imagine a line running around the bone, under the ball joint on the right side, where all those little holes are. This is where the "joint cap" will separate from the leg bone.) I usually start mine in the morning, let it go all day, then all night, getting up once or twice to check it and make sure everything is going good.
When the stock is done, strain out as much of the solids as you can and dispose of them. Place a large strainer over or inside another large pot (the 16 qt, if you have one). If you don’t have a second large stockpot, use as many large containers as you have to hold the strained stock. Carefully pour the hot stock into the pitcher, and allow the liquids to settle for a couple minutes. The fat should rise to the top and form a clean layer. Using a ladle, carefully skim as much of the fat out of pitcher as you can, placing the fat into the heat-proof container. When you are done removing the fat, pour the hot stock through the strainer into the second pot (or other containers) to catch all the remaining solids. Repeat as needed until the 22 qt pan is empty. Set the fat aside to cool and congeal, then dispose of it. Clean out the 22 qt pan, and pour all the stock back into it, if you do not have a second pot big enough to hold all the stock.
Place the now strained and degreased stock back over high heat and bring it to a boil. Continue boiling to reduce this stock by about half. By degreasing the stock, the fat will not try to emulsify into the stock during the boiling/reducing.
Now comes the fun part. To ensure the best possible shelf-life of your stock, you need to chill it as fast as possible. Here is the best way to do that.
Plug up your sink so that water will not drain out. Find some small pieces of flat wood to lay in the bottom of the sink (I usually use three 2” long pieces of 1x2), or a cake rack, and place it on the bottom. Carefully place the pot of stock onto the pieces of wood or the rack. Fill the sink with the ice, then carefully add enough cold water to come up the sides of the pot, without overflowing your sink, or causing the pot to float. Get the soda bottle out of the freezer and stick it straight into the stock. Stir this around, and let it chill. Stir it every 10 - 15 minutes. Check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. When the temperature is down to about 40°F, you can either place the stock in the refrigerator for storage, or, using the ice cube trays, freeze it.
I like to store my stock frozen, in gallon zip bags. I’ve found that the best way to reconstitute my stock, is to place 2 cubes of frozen stock into a measuring cup, and add enough hot water to bring the level up to 1 cup. For more stock, just increase this ratio.
 
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joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Now this is something I've never tried to do, I simply buy the low sodium stocks from Swanson or other good brands. I've wanted to but never could get all the ingredients together. I recently purchased some demi glace and after looking up how to make it I decided even at the price it was cheaper than I could make it for. Here is the basic brown stock that is used as part of the demi glace.


BASIC BROWN STOCK

Ingredients:

8 pounds veal marrow bones sawed into 2-inch pieces
6 pounds beef marrow bones sawed into 2-inch pieces
16 ounces tomato paste
4 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped carrot
2 cups chopped celery
4 cups dry red wine
1 bouquet garni
Salt and pepper
16 quarts of water

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the bones in a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour. Remove the bones from the oven and brush with the tomato paste.
In a mixing bowl, combine the onions, carrots, and celery together. Lay the vegetables over the bones and return to the oven. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat.

Place the roasting pan on the stove and deglaze the pan with the red wine, using a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pan for browned particles. Put everything into a large stockpot. Add the bouquet garni and season with salt.
Add the water. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer the stock for 4 hours, skimming regularly. Remove from the heat and strain through a China cap or tightly meshed strainer.

Yield: about 2 gallons
 

AllenOK

New member
I will occasionally make a demi. I usually only do that at work, though.

My homemade beef stock usually has so much gelatin in it, that if you were to make a demi from the stock, you can cheat and just reduce some of the stock down until it starts to thicken on it's own. It's been awhile since I've done this, but it only took a few hours.
 
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