Yes, I did. I bought beef bones (all they had were marrow bones, so it’s quite strong and produced an inordinate amount of fat), tied me up some bouquets garnis, chopped the mirepoix, and simmered it all like water was going out of fashion. It’s deep brown, it’s nearly clear, and it’s sitting in my fridge going gloopy as I type. I’m well proud.
Now, while I am obviously aware of about three trillion recipes that involve stock, I really want to cook something that I will “feel the benefit” from. I want to know that 6 hours of preparation went in to this, as opposed to 15 seconds of stirring bouillon powder. Soup? Something profoundly french? Should I just spread it all over a naked lady’s body and lick it sensuously off? (That may prove logistically tricky, I hasten to add.)
Straight Dope, I’m counting on you. Any suggestions?
Ooh, french onion soup is a good’un. Can’t make that with powder, nosirreebob.
Lamar’s idea is also good, but will I really notice the gloopy goodness if I chuck it straight from frozen? I should really defrost it, then try to put it down the sink. Only when I’m getting marrowbone stock regurgitated from the overflow will I realise the effort I put in. It’ll be the gift that keeps on giving, too.
I use beef stock instead of water in soups, stews and gravies. I use chicken stock in soups and as a sauce base for a maddeningly simple recipe for pan-sauteed chicken breasts (after breasts are done sauteeing in butter and oil, remove them from the pan, cook some diced onions in the pan drippings, then de-glaze with stock, add some parsley and finish with a pat of butter- best sauce ever). You can also use it to punch up the flavor of rice.
After I FINALLY have a strained pot of stock chilling in the fridge, I skim fat the next morning, then ladle my stock into freezer baggies in 2 cup amounts. They lay flat in the freezer and it’s a good size.
I thought you were supposed to do a round or two of initial capital with a good investment brokerage before making stock. This is not how a good IPO should be run!
Sweetie, you’ve got gold there. Use beef stock as a basis for, not just soups & stews, but for goulashes, stroganoffs, all kinds of folk recipes. Yes, can or freeze the excess. When you want it, use it as a base for curries, goulashes, stroganoffs (yes, again), or just plain French onion soup.
If you get bored with it, send it to me. I’ll pay postage.
Take a pint of stock and reduce it down until it’s thick and glossy. Cook a great steak, deglaze the pan with some cognac and flame it off, add the now reduced stock (demi-glace), add a touch of cream and serve on top of the steak. That’s the base recipe, feel free to add things to it to make an adaptable sauce. Peppercorns, Mushrooms, Garlic, Shallots, Blue Cheese.
You’ll taste the benefit of using real stock in anything that’s not too strongly flavored, especially in vegetable/starch dishes that don’t have meat cooked in them. For example, braising leeks in stock is awesome, but using stock to make your lamb stew with is kind of a waste unless you’ve got tons and tons of stock just kicking around.
Look up recipes for “Steak Au Poivre” and use your stock in it.
You could probably make a nice chili with it.
Perhaps beef-barley soup.
Not sure what else. I make chicken stock from time to time and I always make chicken noodle soup, and vichysoisse with it. I don’t know if you can make a vichysoisse with beef stock, but it doesn’t sound so weird that I wouldn’t give it a try.
Grind up some smoked samon, mix with cream cheese and put this and the stock in a wooden barrel. Then you will have it all…
Lox, stock and barrel.
(sorry about that)
Good beef stock, hmm…
I’d say find a nice hard wheat flour and some fresh eggs. Make up a batch of homemade noodles and boil them in the stock, possibly with a piece of beef.
Mmm… beef and noodles… add some sour cream and, once again, stroganoff
Cheers m’dears. I think due to general skintness I’ll have to pass up the steak for now, so French Onion Soup it is. Sweet. I’ll report back, although probably not in such style as Qadgop did a few months ago.
ETA: I probably do actually have demi-glace (at least in the loose sense - it certainly didn’t involve sauce espagnole as wikipedia claims), since I had to reduce the stock so much to fit in my tiny tupperware. It’s very bouncy.
