Beef Stock for a Hot Skillet

For Beef Stock for a Hot Skillet, the counter starts with sprigs flat-leaf parsley, sprigs thyme or ¾ teaspoon dried thyme, and sprigs rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary. Portion it for 10 people.

Count on 15 minutes of prep, 2 hours of cooking, about 2 hours from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

• 8 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 6 sprigs thyme or ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 sprigs rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 pound beef-stew meat cubed
• 5 pounds veal bones sawed into smaller pieces
• 2 carrots cut into thirds
• 1 onion quartered
• 2 stalks celery cut into thirds
• 2 cups dry red wine I used a reasonably priced Cabernet Sauvignon

How the cooking goes

1. Warm the oven to 450°. Tie all herbs together. Martha says to make a bouquet garni with cheesecloth, but she’s an overachiever. Seriously.
2. Arrange meat, veal bones and vegetables in a single layer in a large roasting pan. Roast, turning every 20 minutes, until the vegetables and bones are a deep brown, about 1 ½ hours.
3. Transfer meat, bones, and vegetables to a large stockpot and keep it to one side.
4. Discard fat from the roasting pan, and place pan over high heat on the stove. Add wine, and use a flat wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits; boil until wine has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Pour all liquid into the stockpot with the bones.
5. Put 6 quarts of cold water, or more to cover the bones, to the stockpot. Heat it until it boils, then reduce to a simmer.
6. Put the herbs. Simmer over the lowest possible heat for 3 hours. Discard the skin that forms on top of the liquid.
7. Strain the stock through cheesecloth or a fine sieve over a large bowl. Discard the solids and cool to ambient temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
8. Stock may be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for 4 months. If storing, leave fat layer intact to seal the stock (you didn’t do this either.). Before using skim the fat layer off the surface.

After it comes off the heat

Cool the pot before it goes into the refrigerator. It reheats gently on the stove the next day.

If you want another plate from Beef, open Cilantro Sherry Chili with a Clear Method and Healthy Beef Stroganoff for a Hot Skillet.