A home made beef stock will give your dishes the depth of flavour required to excel.
Ingredients
| Quantity | Measure | Ingredient |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | tbs | olive oil |
| 2 | kg | beef bones |
| 1 | kg | beef, other (optional) |
| 1 | large | yellow onion (quartered, no need to peel) |
| 1 | large | carrot (cut into 2-inch segments) |
| 5-8 | celery tops and 1 large celery rib, cut into 2-inch segments | |
| 1 | bunch | parsley |
| 1 | leek or green onion greens (if you have them) | |
| 1 | bay leaf | |
| 6-8 | litres | cold water |
| 1 | tbs | salt |
Directions
Optional: brown the beef either in the stock pot or the oven.
Add the beef, onion, carrot, celery, parsley, leek greens (if using), and bay leaf to the pot. Cover with 6-8 litres of cold water.
Bring to a boil on high heat and reduce to a low simmer. If scum rises to the surface of the pot (this usually happens in the first half hour of cooking), skim off with a large metal spoon. Let simmer at a low simmer, uncovered, for 4 to 6 hours.
Use a large metal spoons with holes in it (or a “spider ladle”) to ladle out the cooked beef and vegetables. (These aren’t really good to eat, by the way, because after 4 hours of cooking, all of the nutritional value has been cooked out of them.) Discard.
Use a large sieve lined with dampened cheesecloth (if available) and place over a large bowl or another large pot. Pour the stock through the sieve into the bowl or pot to strain out any remaining solids.
Either pour into jars at this point, or if you want, what we like to do is to boil the stock on high heat for 1 hour, to reduce it by about half. This way you are storing concentrated stock, which takes less room in the freezer or refrigerator. When you are ready, pour into jars.
If you are freezing, you may want to ladle off some of the excess fat on the surface. (The fat helps preserve the stock in the fridge, but doesn’t help it in the freezer.) If freezing, leave at least 1-inch head space, allowing enough room for the liquid stock to expand as it freezes solid. (Otherwise, the expanding ice stock will break the jar.)
Let the stock cool in the sealed jars completely before freezing. Stock should last a week or so in the fridge, and several months in the freezer.