Beef Stock

Brown Stock

Written by on in Stocks and Sauces
Brown Stock
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Brown Stock

Recipe by GeeDeeCourse: StocksCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Medium
Servings

1

litre
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

8

hours 
Calories

343

kcal
Total time

8

hours 

10

minutes

The perfect base for any of the cooking Brown sauces. A brown stock can be made with either Beef bones or Veal bones, depending on the sauce it is going to base. With a mirepoix (2 parts onion to 1 part carrot and 1 part celery) and cooked out for 6-8 hours, you will produce a rich brown flavoursome stock, that is going to add substance to any brown sauce you want to produce. 

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs Beef or Veal Bones knuckle bones are best

  • 1 lb Mirepoix 2 Parts Onion to 1 Part Carrot and 1 Part Celery

  • 1 Bouquet Garni or Sachet bay leaf, thyme, parsley, peppercorns and 3/4 cloves of Garlic wrapped and tied in a cheesecloth.

  • 6 ozs Tomato Puree

  • 1.25 lts Cold Water

Directions

  • You need a deep baking tin to place the bones in so that they are well separated and then place in a hot oven (400 f ) for about 30/45 minutes,
  • Turn them occasionally so that they are well browned all over.
  • While the bones are browning, prepare the vegetables for the Mirepoix by cutting them into medium-sized dice
  • Once the bones have browned sufficiently add the Mirepoix to the baking tin and place back in the oven for a further 30 minutes.
  • 10 minutes before the bones and Mirepoix have run their course add the Tomato Puree, mix well and leave to cook out the rest of the time
  • Place the bones and vegetables into the stockpot and remove any remaining fat from the baking tray, place on the hob over a medium heat
  • Deglaze the baking tray by adding some of the cold water, to cover the bottom of the pan and bring it up to the boil.
  • Scrape the bottom of the pan to remove all the bone and vegetable sediment and mix with the water
  • Add this to the stockpot with the remaining cold water.
  • Tie the sachet to the handle of the stockpot so you can easily find it at the end of the process and bring the liquid to a boil
  • Once the stock has come to the boil, turn the heat down so that the top of the stock is just simmering
  • Let the stock simmer away for at least 4 hours or longer is always good.
  • As you will see scum appearing on the top of the stock, carefully skim this off as it appears.
  • Keep a watchful eye on the level of liquid, if you notice that it is getting a bit low add some more water. The level always has to be above the bones
  • At the end of the cooking process remove the bones and discard, then strain the rest of the stock through a fine muslin or cheesecloth into a clean pot.
  • Immediately place the pot with the strained stock in into a bowl of ice-cold water to reduce the temperature as quickly as possible.
  • When the stock has cooled sufficiently cover and place into the refrigerator
  • The stock will be quite happy for 2/3 days refrigerated.
  • Discard any settled fat that may be on top of the stock before using
  • Now you have the base for making all the brown sauces.