# Beef stock questions and suggestions. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-stock-questions-and-suggestions/780509 "2017-02-22T21:04:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-stock-questions-and-suggestions/780509/1 "2017-02-22T21:04:15Z")
My birthday was January 31st and my daughter came to my house and cooked me a delicious prime rib and garlic potatoes with au jus. The ribs and the leftover jus has been in the freezer since along with some other random beef bones. My idea is to put these bones in the oven and add the jus to the stock when cooking. Also, I’ve made plenty chicken stock but have never made beef stock. Do I put the same stuff in it? Onions, celery, carrots a bay leaf or two and peppercorns? Should I roast the cooked bones? The other bones are raw. How long and how high to I roast them. Is it a good or bad idea to put the gravy in the stock? Any advice and tips would be appreciated. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-stock-questions-and-suggestions/780509/2 "2017-02-22T22:16:15Z")
All your ideas are good. Whether to roast the bones or not depends on the kind of stock you want; if you want a lighter style stock that is fairly versatile, don’t roast them. If you want a richer, more beefy stock, roast them. I personally almost always make the roasted version. To roast, put them in the oven fairly hot - 450 or so - and dab a little olive oil on them. Roast until they’re nice and brown, turning halfway through. It generally takes 45 min to an hour. Other than that, yep, just like chicken stock, but takes longer. I like to do beef stock all day - 8 to 10 hours. Put the veggies in at the last hour. Throw a little tomato paste in as well. And yeah, the jus is fine too. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-stock-questions-and-suggestions/780509/3 "2017-02-22T22:33:03Z")
Thanks, Athena. You Greek goddesses know about cooking! ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-stock-questions-and-suggestions/780509/4 "2017-02-22T22:37:23Z")
A good addition to “beef up” your beef broth is a smidge of anchovy paste or an anchovy filet or two. The broth won’t taste like fish, but it will gain some umami and taste meatier. And like **Athena** says, a bit of tomato paste also punches it up. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-stock-questions-and-suggestions/780509/5 "2017-02-22T22:40:00Z")
Pretty much the same as above, except for brown stock I also roast the vegetables and I simmer the vegetables with the bones the entire time. I use the usual vegetables: carrots, onion (don’t need to peel), celery. (Most of the time, though, I just do a light beef stock without roasting or I just put the beef bones in with my chicken broth, which is pretty usual for Polish chicken soup.) The jus should be fine, too. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-stock-questions-and-suggestions/780509/6 "2017-02-22T22:54:25Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > A good addition to “beef up” your beef broth is a smidge of anchovy paste or an anchovy filet or two. The broth won’t taste like fish, but it will gain some umami and taste meatier. And like **Athena** says, a bit of tomato paste also punches it up. Also a dash of Worcestershire, which provides more of the same, and a package or two of powdered gelatin. The gelatin adds a lot of body and richness to the stock. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-stock-questions-and-suggestions/780509/7 "2017-02-23T00:16:54Z")
And a pressure cooker makes amazing stock in much shorter order. I read about blanching raw bones before roasting … any opinions? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-stock-questions-and-suggestions/780509/8 "2017-02-23T01:15:39Z")
I sometimes blanch to increase clarity, but usually I don’t bother. I mostly do it when I’m making chicken broth with a lot of chicken parts in it. It does make it clearer, but you can get a pretty clear stock just doing it the regular way, as long as you maintain a gentle simmer. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-stock-questions-and-suggestions/780509/9 "2017-02-23T01:40:23Z")
Thanks all for the advice. Just found out The Boy cleaned out the freezer and threw away the bones and the gravy. Dang! Still, I will get more and this will be done.