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).

Vegetarian stock

I don't know whether it helps or hurts that I don't much like vegetarian broth - no brand or form of it canned is even edible, so far as I am concerned.  Ugh, what do they put in it?  So  I am trying to make it from scratch.  We've had several batches, all different, all okay, none perfect, but we're getting closer. 

Ingredients.  We decided against the turnip. Not shown: peas

One rule: don't overcook, because most overcooked vegetables, even seasoning vegetables, taste sour and awful. (There are exceptions; some green vegetables develop a different and much better taste after being cooked for an hour or more.)

Another rule, as I am learning, is that what meat contributes to good stock is an abundance of the flavor called "umami", a Japanese word meaning "deliciousness", which in its pure form is found in monosodium glutamate.  If a veggie stock is going to satisfy, umami must be included from vegetable sources.  Ingredients high in glutamates include ripe tomatoes and mushrooms, especially dried shiitake mushrooms.  Also high in glutamates are potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas. Thus, veggie stock will be more satisfying if it contains, at least, tomato paste, mushrooms, carrots and peas.  The more of those other ingredients included in the soup,  the more satisfying the broth will be.  With glutamate- rich foods as a base and liberal inclusion of the standard seasoning vegetables, we can produce a stock both satisfying and tasty.

Start with this:

Onion
Celery
Garlic
Carrot
Green pepper
Mushrooms

Saute seasoning vegetables

Dice and saute vegetables in batches to bring out the flavor, and when softened, place them in a cooking vessel (stockpot, crockpot, microwave- safe container, hotpot) about twice the volume of the vegetables you've sauteed.  Then add:

Tomato paste
Green peas
Parsley with stems

Fill pot 3/4 with water

Cook on High until hot, then reduce to Low and cook until vegetables are just done.

Strain out as much of the broth as you want to reserve, leaving enough broth with the cooked vegetables so that with the addition of some fresh items you can serve it as Vegetable or Minestrone soup.

One pint of stock will fill a 16-cube ice tray,  giving you frozen stock measured roughly in ounces for use in quick "little soups" or in other dishes.

Note:  Other ingredients to consider for veggie stock are "kombu", a seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, soy sauce, and Chinese cabbage.  All these will undoubtedly increase the "deliciousness" of your stock, but whether the flavors are appropriate will depend on what you intend to do with the stock.

Vegetarian Stock

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).

** This recipe also appears in our companion Blog "The Baker's Dozen"

Lima Bean and Mushroom Soup

We cooked this "Little Soup" in a small camper's pan which had been set into a hot pot.

Lima Bean and Mushroom soup cooked in a hotpot

4 frozen cubes (4 ounces) of vegetarian stock.

Heat until the cubes are mostly melted, about 5 minutes in the hot pot.

1/2 cup Baby limas with liquid, previously cooked without seasonings

Steamed kale
Minced red onion

Large fresh mushroom

Cut up the mushroom.  Add everything to the pan in the hot pot. Cook until the mushroom is soft.

Turn off heat and allow the soup to stand and steep for a few minutes before serving.

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).

Meatball Mushroom cooked in a Hot Pot

A "Little Soup" cooked in a bowl which has been lowered into a hot pot, resting on spoons at the bottom to keep it off the element. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

Meatball Mushroom soup in a Hot Pot

Of course it can be cooked in an ordinary saucepan or in a microwave oven.


5 vegetarian stock ice cubes
2 frozen meatballs
2 large mushrooms, sliced
1 green onion, chopped

Heat all together until mushrooms are cooked through and meatballs are hot. In a hot pot, it took 20 minutes.  In a microwave oven it would be 2 or 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add:

1/4 cup cooked pasta.  We used leftover gluten-free penne here.

Serve

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).

Chicken Soup with Vegetables and Egg

 

Ingredients:

1 cup (8 oz) chicken stock, homemade preferably.

1/2 cup various vegetables. For example:

1 small or 2 tiny steamed potatoes
2 brussels sprouts
1/2 Roma tomato
1 slice bell pepper
1 hard boiled egg

Note:  I used these because I had these!  Any small bits of vegetables would go well in this soup.

Heat chicken stock to near-boiling.

Meanwhile, reserve 1 slice of tomato and dice the remainder. take a slice of bell pepper and put the rest away.  Dice the potatoes.

When the stock is hot, put in the diced tomato, potato, and sprouts.  Heat back up to a simmer and remove from heat.

After 2 or 3 minutes, pour the soup into a bowl.  Float the pepper slice and the tomato slice on the surface.  Slice the hard boiled egg onto the surface.  Garnish, serve, enjoy!

In short: Heat a cup of broth, add 1/2 cup vegetables and heat again, garnish with sliced egg and something else, serve.


To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.  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).

Chicken Soup and Stock

This recipe for chicken soup is both simple and delicious.  I learned it years ago from my children's grandmother, who brought it with her from the Balkans.  She stressed that all ingredients must be fresh, not preserved, and that every one of the ingredients is there for a reason.  The stock it produces is versatile; it can be used in any cuisine.

Just add water and heat!

Place into a slow cooker, dutch oven, or soup pot one of the following:

Whole young chicken - if buying a fryer for soup, choose the largest available.
Chicken parts, any combination, 3 pounds or more.
Roasted whole chicken or roasted chicken parts.
Bones, skin, cartilege, fat, etc. of chicken, raw or roasted, from which the meat has been removed.

Chicken scraps make excellent soup; just skim the fat at the end, and strain out all the little bits.  A few pounds of necks and backs will produce fine chicken stock! Dark meat makes better soup than white meat.  The one thing you don't want to use for soup is boneless skinless chicken, especially not boneless skinless white meat.

Add to the pot the following fresh (not frozen, canned, or dried) ingredients:

1 large or 2 smaller onions
2-3 carrots
1-2 tomatoes
1-2 stalks celery
fresh parsley including stems
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
sprinkle of pepper

Water to cover

No need to chop the vegetables.  When served they are more appealing whole.

Our recipe assumes 3-5 pounds of chicken; if less, decrease the seasoning vegetables and perhaps the size of the pot.  Too much water makes thin soup!  If more, increase pot size, seasonings, and water proportionately. A roasting or stewing chicken will require longer cooking.

Large serving container with chicken soup and soup vegetables

Heat at medium high until the soup comes to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook until chicken is well done but still holding together. (How long this takes will depend on the age and size and therefore, the tenderness of the chicken, and on the temperature at which it is cooked; anywhere from one to several hours.) Lift out the chicken and strain the soup.  Adjust seasonings.

Set aside a portion of the soup for stock and return the remaining broth to your (rinsed) pot.  Sort through the residue in your strainer, and return to the soup all pieces that are good for eating (carrots, onions, and whatever else you like) and throw the rest away.  Now your soup is ready for whatever additions you want to make - see recipes for chicken soup here or here or elsewhere.

To see a full set of photographs showing how chicken stock is made, go to this slide show on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.)  No need to read captions as the pictures are borrowed from several sets showing various ways to make stock and soup.

Chicken Soup with Rice

In December I will be
A baubled, bangled Christmas tree
With soup bowls draped all over me
Merry once, merry twice
Merry chicken soup with rice

I told you once, I told you twice
All seasons of the year are nice
For eating chicken soup with rice

-- Maurice Sendak

Plan Ahead!

Soup made from scratch can be a simple affair of 3 or 4 fresh ingredients and can be wonderful; but sometimes it's nice to have something a bit more involved.  The way around it is to make extra, in batches, and to freeze it in amounts just right to assemble a single serving later.  Today I set aside 2 cups of broth from a steak and vegetable soup and froze it in an ice tray.  One frozen cube is just about one ounce, so 8 cubes of a variety of ingredients will make a cup of soup!  My ice trays, simple cheap plastic ones, make 16 cubes.