Rich, homemade beef stock

When the weather gets cold—but before we turn on the heat—I like to heat the house a bit up by simmering stocks on the stove for those warming winter soups. In a pinch, you can get away with canned chicken stock, but canned beef stock is not even close to how delicious your homemade stock is. It takes several hours, but the stovetop does all the work for you!

Homemade beef stock

To make this super rich beef stock roast, simply toss a combo of veal shanks, short ribs, and oxtails along with carrots, onions and celery onto an oiled sheet pan into a 450°oven for a 45 minutes. Then place everything into a large stock pot, including all those brown bits. Cover with water and add (additional) carrots, celery, onion, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, several peppercorns and a head of garlic. Then just let the stock simmer away on a very low flame for at least 4 hours. Skim off fat and scum as it arises. Cool, add salt to taste, then strain twice through cheesecloth. You can use your stock right away or put in freezer for a snowy soup day for your beef bourguignon, beef stew, Vietnamese pho, or French onion soup. It's a labor of love, but you'll be astounded at how good your soups will taste with your own homemade beef stock!

The goods...

… and after 45 minutes in a 450 oven