Brown Stock

Name: Brown Stock
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 7 h 5 min
Total time: 7 h 45 min
Ingredients: 2½ kg (5½ lb) beef or veal bones, knuckle, neck and marrow bones, cut by the butcher into 8–10 cm pieces; 500 g (1 lb) beef shin or oxtail, optional, for extra flavor and body; 2 onions, halved, skin on; 2 carrots, cut in 5 cm chunks; 2 celery stalks, cut in 5 cm chunks; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tbsp neutral oil; 4½ l (19 cups) cold water, plus 250 ml to deglaze the tray; 4 sprigs thyme; 2 bay leaves; 1 tsp black peppercorns

Roasted bones, slow time, and the backbone of every great gravy

Makes: about 2.5 l (10 cups)
Hands-on: 40 min
Total: 7 h 45 min
Level: Some skill

Brown stock is beef or veal bones roasted until deeply colored, then simmered for most of a day. It is the difference between a gravy that tastes of something and one that tastes of flour.

Ingredients

2½ kgbeef or veal bones (5½ lb)knuckle, neck and marrow bones, cut by the butcher into 8–10 cm pieces
500 gbeef shin or oxtail (1 lb)optional, for extra flavor and body
2onionshalved, skin on
2carrotscut in 5 cm chunks
2celery stalkscut in 5 cm chunks
2 tbsptomato paste
1 tbspneutral oil
4½ lcold water (19 cups)plus 250 ml to deglaze the tray
4 sprigsthyme
2bay leaves
1 tspblack peppercorns

Diet: Gluten-free, Dairy-free
Allergens: celery
Season: Autumn, Winter

Method

Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Spread the bones and shin in a single layer in a large roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes.
Turn the bones, scatter the onions, carrots and celery around them, toss the vegetables in the oil and roast for another 25–30 minutes, until the bones are deep brown and the vegetables have dark edges but are not black. 30 min
Brush the tomato paste over the bones and return to the oven for 5 minutes, until it darkens to brick red.
Transfer everything to a large stockpot (8 l). Pour off the fat from the pan, add 250 ml water, and scrape up the browned bits over medium heat. Pour this into the pot.
Add the cold water to cover by 3 cm and bring slowly to a simmer over medium heat, skimming off foam and fat as it rises, about 40 minutes.
Add the thyme, bay and peppercorns. Simmer at the barest tremble, uncovered, for 6 hours, skimming occasionally and topping up with hot water to keep the bones covered. 6 h
Strain through a fine sieve without pressing. Cool in an ice bath, refrigerate, then lift off the solid fat.
For a richer stock to use in sauces, reduce the strained stock by half at a steady simmer; it will set firmly when cold.

Why it works

Roasting triggers the Maillard reaction on the bone surfaces and vegetables, creating hundreds of savory, roasted flavor compounds that boiling alone never produces. The tomato paste adds glutamates and a little acid that sharpen the meatiness. Veal and young beef knuckles are rich in collagen, which becomes gelatin over a long simmer and gives sauces their glossy, lip-sticking body.

Common mistakes

Burning the bones or vegetables: black bits make the whole pot bitter. Pull them when deep brown.
Forgetting to deglaze the pan: the browned crust stuck there is the best flavor in the recipe.
Boiling instead of simmering: the stock turns greasy and murky.

Variations

Lamb stock: Use lamb neck and shoulder bones and add 2 garlic cloves and a rosemary sprig; use for Slow-Roast Lamb Shoulder with Garlic and Rosemary gravy.

Make ahead and storage

Keeps 4 days chilled, 6 months frozen. Reduced stock freezes well in ice-cube trays; two cubes enrich a pan sauce.

Notes

Ask the butcher for veal knuckles if you can get them; they give the most gelatin. A good store-bought beef stock or a fresh stock from the chiller cabinet can be used instead in any recipe.