Homemade Beef Stock
Homemade beef stock lends a delicious richness to all your soups, stocks, and risottos. It should be at the top of your list of essentials you keep in your freezer!
I know what you’re thinking. Do I really need to make beef stock from scratch? The answer is yes! Sure, you can use that stuff out of a can or (gasp!) from a bouillon cube.
Have I ever done that?
Yes. That used to be my go-to. But then I learned to make beef stock from scratch. I can promise you the small amount of effort that goes into making this stock is well worth it. It lends a richness and subtlety to your food that you just can’t get from a can or a dehydrated cube.
What is beef stock used for?
I use beef stock as a base for all kinds of soups (Vegetable Beef Soup), stews (Brunswick Stew), and risottos (Mushroom Risotto). It is terrific as the flavoring liquid in gravy. It’s perfect as a braising liquid for roasts.
How to make beef stock
The most important part of a really good beef stock is the bones. You need 5 or 6 pounds of good, meaty beef bones. There are pretty easy to find these days. Obviously, if you have access to a butcher shop, then you have a terrific source. But even regular grocery stores carry them these days. You can usually find them packaged with the meat. If not, ask.
Once you have your bones, you need to roast them. It’s not as much trouble as it sounds like. Just toss them with some oil, salt, and pepper, and pop them in the oven. You can even throw in a few vegetables to add to the flavor
Once the bones are roasted, place them in a large pot with the vegetables, some bay leaves and thyme.
Don’t forget to de-glaze your roasting pan!
Nothing fancy. Water works just fine for this particular purpose. Add that to the pot, then add some water.
Bring it to a boil. Then turn it down to simmer for a few hours. Let it cool and strain all the solids out. It’s technically ready to be used right then, but I like to put it in the refrigerator overnight. All the fat will rise to the top and harden over. You can easily just spoon it off.
If your stock looks like jelly when you take it out of the fridge, give yourself a high five! That is exactly what you want.
Can you freeze beef stock?
Absolutely! Beef stock freezes amazingly well! I like to put mine up in 8-ounce packages, but you can use choose whatever quantity you think you’ll use the most.
Expert Tips
- Make sure your bones have some meat on them. It helps to flavor your stock.
- Use water to de-glaze your roasting pan. Wines or juices will give your stock an off flavor.
- Refrigerating the stock overnight allows the fat to rise to the top and harden. That makes it exceptionally easy to spoon off.
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Homemade Beef Stock
Ingredients
- 5-6 pounds beef bones
- 5 carrots
- 3 stalks celery
- 1 head garlic
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 5 quarts water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut carrots and celery into 2-3 inch long pieces.
- Peel garlic.
- Toss bones, carrots, celery, and garlic with oil, salt, and pepper.
- Place in roasting pan.
- Roast for 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven and pour into a large stockpot.
- Add a little bit of water to the roasting pan.
- Heat on a burner, stirring, until all the little bits of meat and vegetables come loose and it reduces down just a bit.
- Pour into stockpot.
- Add bay leaves, thyme, and water.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Simmer until the stock reduces by nearly half, about 4 hours.
- Cool.
- Pour into a lidded container, straining out solids.
- Place in refrigerator overnight.
- Remove from refrigerator and spoon fat from top of stock.
- Use within a few days or portion and freeze.
Notes
- Make sure your bones have some meat on them. It helps to flavor your stock.
- Use water to de-glaze your roasting pan. Wines or juices will give your stock an off flavor.
- Refrigerating the stock overnight allows the fat to rise to the top and harden. That makes it exceptionally easy to spoon off.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
