Homemade beef stock

[AnnaRaven]

So it's morning. The stock has been simmering overnight in the crockpot. I'm gonna drag DS to school then stop by the store and pick up a stockpot and transfer the whole works to that.

Restaurant supply eh? Hrmmm... just googled for it and maps sez there's nothing within a 20minute drive. OTOH - Target and OSH are both within 5 minutes and I know Target has one. OSH may have one so I'll stop there first.

 

[abifae]

Sam's Club sometimes has them really cheap. I need one!!!

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

The trick with a stock pot is getting a heavy bottomed stainless steel one. Aluminum is a bad idea, and those spackel ones are a dime a dozen and worth about as much.

Finding one with a steel lid is a must for us as well.

 

[AnnaRaven]

So I got a stainless steel stockpot and my stock is now simmering away happily. I added more boiling water to cover once I moved everything over.

Hope this works.

 

[StupidBird]

Just yesterday I made a big pot of stock from the beef bones. first browned in oven, fat poured off, then boiled and simmered all day. It is a bit milky but very rich. Let cool in frig overnight and lifted off the solid fat. Then boiled again to melt the gel, took out the bones, strained off the meaty bits. This was the base for a big snow day soup! usually I do split this up to freeze the reduced stock for later use. I guess it shouldnt boil so long, the minerals from the bones make it cloudy? Still tastes good.
this time I poured all the strained bits and the fat together in a loaf pan to cool solid . . . Thinking to use it as suet blocks for the birds and hens. Sound like a good idea? Usually throw this stuff away.

 

[freemotion]

I got my big pots at Target. The restaurant supply place here, although a lot of fun to shop at, only has aluminum pots (ick!!! No!!) and the only stainless steel ones they have are hundreds of dollars each. Like $600, really.

 

[patandchickens]

Hope this works.

the great thing about making stock is that there really isn't (well maybe very rarely if you do something bizarre) any such thing as "not working". There is only better and not-so-better... but that's just a matter of what you use the stock for. There are LOTS of things that are still really good even made with less-than-first-class stock.

Have fun,

Pat

 

[AnnaRaven]

Just yesterday I made a big pot of stock from the beef bones. first browned in oven, fat poured off, then boiled and simmered all day. It is a bit milky but very rich. Let cool in frig overnight and lifted off the solid fat. Then boiled again to melt the gel, took out the bones, strained off the meaty bits. This was the base for a big snow day soup! usually I do split this up to freeze the reduced stock for later use. I guess it shouldnt boil so long, the minerals from the bones make it cloudy? Still tastes good.
this time I poured all the strained bits and the fat together in a loaf pan to cool solid . . . Thinking to use it as suet blocks for the birds and hens. Sound like a good idea? Usually throw this stuff away.

Julia says don't let it come to a boil just a low simmer, boiling's what breaks up the scum and the fat into small enough bits that they make the stock cloudy. There are ways to clarify it if you want.

 

[AnnaRaven]

Hope this works.

the great thing about making stock is that there really isn't (well maybe very rarely if you do something bizarre) any such thing as "not working". There is only better and not-so-better... but that's just a matter of what you use the stock for. There are LOTS of things that are still really good even made with less-than-first-class stock.

Have fun,

Pat

Well, unless it ends up tasting burnt or funky... That's what I was worried about. It's doing good though - my whole house smells *awesome*. Thanks for the reassurance. Can you tell I'm a worrywort?

Now I just have to figure out how to decide when it's done!

 

[AnnaRaven]

I got my big pots at Target. The restaurant supply place here, although a lot of fun to shop at, only has aluminum pots (ick!!! No!!) and the only stainless steel ones they have are hundreds of dollars each. Like $600, really.

Yeah - I just ran over to Target and got one for like $40. A big 20quart stainless steel one. Yay!