Traditional French beef stock, also called brown beef stock, beef broth or beef bouillon, is essential for many French dishes. It is the base for soups, stews and several sauces. Perhaps its best known use is as a base for French onion soup; beef bouillon is the star of this soup. Canned bouillon or a bouillon cube does not begin to do it justice. The best part about beef bouillon is that this rich broth is made from beef bones, items that might otherwise be wasted. Homemade beef stock is both frugal and delicious.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2
Place the bones into the bottom of the roasting pan.
Step 3
Coarsely chop the vegetables. Add 1/2 cup each of the carrots, celery and onions to the roasting pan. Spread the vegetables out so that they form the thinnest layer possible.
Step 4
Roast the bones and vegetables in the upper third of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until they are a walnut-brown color. Turn and baste them with the juices that accumulate in the bottom of the pan several times during roasting to keep them from drying out.
Step 5
Scoop the roasted bones and vegetables into the kettle.
Step 6
Discard the fat in the roasting pan but keep the drippings.
Step 7
Set the roasting pan on a burner, add 2 cups water, and turn the burner to medium-high heat.
Step 8
Scrape the bits of meat and juices from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and into the water. When all of the little bits in the pan have been dissolved or dislodged, turn off the burner and pour everything from the roasting pan into the kettle. This process of capturing everything in a roasting pan is known as "deglazing" the pan.
Step 9
Place the parsley, thyme, allspice berries and peppercorns in the center of a piece of cheesecloth.
Step 10
Peel the garlic and smash it with the side of the chef's knife. Set it on the cheesecloth as well.
Step 11
Bundle the cheesecloth into a small package, tie it closed with the string and add it to the kettle.
Step 12
Add the tomatoes to the kettle and enough water to cover everything by 2 inches, usually about 6 quarts.
Step 13
Bring the mixture to a simmer, and skim off any scum that forms on the surface.
Step 14
Add the salt.
Step 15
Cover the kettle loosely and simmer it for at least two hours, maybe as many as three. Every 10 to 15 minutes, check on it. Skim off the scum and add water if the level has fallen below the surface of the ingredients.
Step 16
Strain the broth through a colander into a large bowl.
Step 17
Discard the bones, herbs and vegetables, and set the broth into the refrigerator uncovered. When the fat rises to the surface, skim it off.
Step 18
Warm the broth on the stove once the fat has been skimmed off.
Step 19
Strain the broth into another bowl, this time through a fine sieve.
Step 20
Use the broth immediately, refrigerate it and use it within 24 hours, or freeze it for later use.
Tips and Warnings
- Bones 3 inches or less in length work best for making this soup. If the bones you plan to purchase are too large, ask your butcher to cut them up for you. Simmering the soup for a long time yields a rich broth. The vegetables should be mushy and the bones should look like all the good stuff in the fibers has been extracted. In other words, the broth should look dark and rich, and the bones and vegetables should look used and anemic.
- Your broth will be only as good as the bones you use. Use bones from well-treated, grass-fed animals. Any antibiotics or pesticides the animal is exposed to build up in the bones and tissues. Given the long simmer, anything in the bones will find its way into the broth.
Things You'll Need
- 3 to 4 lbs. meaty, raw beef bones
- Large roasting pan
- 2 carrots
- 2 onions
- 2 celery ribs
- Range with oven and stove
- Large cooking spoon
- Water
- Wooden spoon
- Kettle with a lid
- 1 or 2 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 or 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 allspice berries
- 6 peppercorns
- Cheesecloth
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- Chef's knife
- Cotton cooking string
- 1 large tomato, cored and chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- Colander
- 2 large bowls
- Sieve
References
- Simply Recipes; Beef Bouillon Soup from Oxtails; Elise; November 2005
- "The Way to Cook"; Julia Child; 1989
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