Beef Stock for Little Soups

Making beef stock is an all-day-long proposition.  You don't have to do much, but you do have to be home!  It's worth doing occasionally, because with a supply of homemade stock in the freezer and a few fresh vegetables on hand, a fast bowl of good soup can be enjoyed any time.

Beef ribs and oxtails roasted and ready to go in the soup

We made this stock out of beef ribs and oxtails, 4+ pounds. Ordinary soup bones would have been nice but there were none at Walmart that day.  A good-enough broth can be made from boneless chuck, if need be, but meat with bones is better for the purpose. 

Beef stock tastes richer if the bones (and meat) are roasted first. No seasonings are needed - just roast at 325 F. until well browned, then transfer them to a stock pot.

Simmer the beef and bones on "low" until the meat is tender;  remove it all from the pot,  detach the meat and return the rest to the pot for further simmering.  It takes many hours for cartilage, which adds richness, to break down.

When the bones are fully cooked with cartilage no longer clinging to them, strain it all and return clear broth to the pot. To this add sauteed seasoning vegetables such as onions and carrots.  Simmer until  vegetables are soft.

Remove some (or most) of the stock and set it aside to cool before freezing.  It takes about a pint to fill one ice tray.

Frozen beef stock, about 1 ounce each

The remaining stock and seasoning vegetables, together with reserved soupmeat, will be the basis for a good beef soup, with additions.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).