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Beef Stock

Meat stock is very useful in the preparation of soups and sauces;

The quantity given here may seem excessive, but it can be deep frozen and kept at hand for future use.

Serves : 16 cups / 4 litres

Ingredients:

2kg / 4lb Shin Beef on the bone

2kg / 4lb Veal Knuckle (cut into 5cm / 2 inch pieces)

4 Pigs’ Trotters

2kg / 4lb Veal and Beef Bones (preferably Marrow Bones, sawn into pieces)

60g / 2oz Dripping

2 cups Carrots, chopped

2 cups Onions, chopped

1½ cups Celery, chopped

1 Bouquet Garni of Parsley, Thyme, Marjoram

4 Bay Leaves

12 Black Peppercorns

24 cups / 6 litres Water

Instructions:

In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients, except the bouquet garni, peppercorns and water and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the meat, bones and vegetables have browned slightly.
Add the bouquet garni and peppercorns.
Add the water and slowly bring to the boil.
Simmer 6 – 8 hours until the liquid is reduced to 16 cups / 4 litres.
Cool and drain through muslin. Skim off the fat by refrigerating the liquid overnight and removing the congealed fat the next day.

Brown Beef Stock

Butchers will chop up and sell you marrowbones for just a few pence, or they can sometimes be bought pre-packed in supermarkets. For a light beef stock use the same ingredients and follow the same instructions but leave out the initial roasting of the bones and vegetables.

Serves :

Ingredients:

3lb / about 1.5kg Beef Marrowbones, in pieces
2 Large Carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 Onions, quartered
3 Celery stalks, each cut into three pieces
A Few Parsley Stalks
1 Bay Leaf
8 Whole Black Peppercorns
1 Blade Mace
¼ level tsp Dried Thyme
1 level tsp Salt

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 8 / 450°F / 230°C.

Begin by placing the bones in a meat roasting tin, tucking the chunks of carrot, quartered onion and celery in amongst them.
Now, without adding any fat, just pop the roasting tin on to a high shelf in the oven and leave it there for 45 minutes, basting with the juices now and then. After that, both the bones and the vegetables will have turned brown at the edges.
Now transfer them all to the very largest cooking pot you own, add enough cold water just to cover everything - about 4 – 5 pints / 2.25 – 2.8 litres - and add the rest of the ingredients, then as soon as it reaches boiling point remove the scum and lower the heat. Put the lid on but not completely (leave a little gap for the steam to escape, thereby reducing and concentrating the stock). Now simmer very gently for about 4 hours.
When the stock is ready, leave it to become quite cold, then remove the congealed fat from the surface. The stock is now ready for use, or for freezing for later use.