Making Beef Stock from Scraps
A good kitchen never throws away the bones from a roast or the heels of a carrot. These scraps carry the foundation of your cooking, turning plain water into a deep, gelatinous stock.
Consistency over volume
Keep a gallon freezer bag in your freezer; toss in bones and clean vegetable trimmings whenever you have them. Do not include cruciferous vegetables like broccoli or cabbage, as they turn bitter during the long simmer.
- large heavy-bottomed stockpot
- roasting pan
- fine-mesh strainer
- cheesecloth
What goes in.
- 3 lbbeef bones, cartilage, and trimmings
- 2onions, skin on, quartered
- 3carrots, chopped into chunks
- 2celery stalks, with leaves
- 1 tbspblack peppercorns
- 2bay leaves
- 3 qtcold water
Building the color
Do not skip the oven. Roasting the bones and vegetables until they are a deep mahogany brown is what creates the stock's color and depth.
The method.
Roast the bones
Spread bones and vegetables on a tray and bake at 425°F for 45 minutes, turning halfway through, until deeply charred.
Deglaze the pan
Pour a cup of water into the hot roasting pan and scrape up every bit of dark sediment. Pour all of this into your stockpot.
Simmer
Add the bones, vegetables, and the rest of the cold water to the pot. Bring to a boil, then immediately turn to the lowest setting.
Maintain the bubble
Let the stock barely tremble at the surface for six to eight hours. Skim off any gray foam that rises in the first hour.
Strain
Pass the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth into a clean bowl. Press on the solids gently to release the last of the liquid.
Other turns to take.
Roasted Garlic Stock
Add a whole head of garlic, cut in half horizontally, to the roasting pan for a milder, aromatic finish.
Red Wine Reduction
Add a cup of dry red wine when deglazing the pan for extra acidity and color.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Always start with cold water; it draws out more collagen from the bones than hot water.
Chill the stock overnight in the fridge to allow the fat to solidify into a hard white layer on top, which you can easily lift off.
If you have a pressure cooker, you can achieve the same result in two hours on high pressure.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I use cooked meat scraps?
Yes, but prioritize bones and connective tissue. Meat alone won't provide the body or gelatin needed for a good stock.
How long does this keep?
It will stay fresh in the refrigerator for five days or in the freezer for up to six months.
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