Published December 11, 2024. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This homemade Veal Stock Recipe rewards you with a deeply flavorful and collagen-rich base for sauces, soups, stews, and braised beef dishes. One taste, and you’ll never settle for store-bought again.
Whether it’s this veal stock recipe or other classics like chicken stock, beef stock, fish stock, or vegetable stock, making stock from scratch is a labor of love and adds gourmet excellence to your favorite dishes.
Veal Stock
Did you know you can make homemade stock with veal bones, like regular beef stock? The bones are rich with collagen and have a more refined, gelatinous texture compared to other animal bones, all of which break down during the slow simmering process. The result is a rich, velvety stock with deep, savory flavors that only a true veal bone broth can deliver.
This veal stock recipe requires little effort—just 10 minutes of prep before simmering the liquid for several hours. It yields a whopping 2 ½ gallons of stock, giving you enough to freeze for later use or to use right away for all kinds of dishes. It lends rich, homemade flavors to endless recipes, from sauces to soups to braises.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Veal bones – These can be any veal bones, including knuckles, neck, oxtails, or marrow bones. Most butcher shops, especially those specializing in high-quality meats, will carry veal bones.
- Vegetables — Slow-roasted yellow onions, garlic, celery, and carrots lend an aromatic foundation to the stock. Other mirepoix vegetables you can use are leeks, celeriac root, parsnips, mushrooms, or leftover frozen vegetable scraps.
- Tomato paste – It intensifies the umami flavors of the stock and adds a subtle sweetness.
- Wine – Use a dry red wine you enjoy drinking, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Shiraz. If you prefer not to use alcohol, substitute the wine with high-quality balsamic vinegar. It will provide a similar acidity and richness without the alcohol content.
- Herbs – I used a combination of thyme sprigs and parsley stems to season the stock. You can also use fresh sprigs of oregano, rosemary, or a few bay leaves.
- Spices – Whole peppercorns are also used to season the stock.
How to Make Veal Stock
Divide the veal bones between two large roasting pans. Place one on the middle rack and the other on the bottom rack of the oven. Roast at 450°F for 1 hour and 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through.
Once the bones are roasted, transfer them to an extra-large stock pot.
Cover the bones with about 3 gallons of cold water (they should be fully submerged by about 2 inches) and heat to a simmer over low to medium heat.
Meanwhile, drain the veal bone fat rendered during roasting from one pan into the other. Place the pan over one or two burners and heat on medium.
Add the vegetables to the pan with the fat and sauté for 25 to 30 minutes until they’re caramelized. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it becomes darker and rust-like.
Transfer the vegetable mixture from the roasting pan to your pot.
Deglaze the roasting pan with 1 ½ cups of red wine and use a wooden spoon to loosen any stuck bits on the bottom. Simmer until it reduces by half, then add the wine reduction to the pot.
Add ½ cup of water to the pan to loosen up any remaining bits, then pour that into the stock pot. Repeat this deglazing process using the remaining 1 ½ cups of wine.
Tie the herbs and spices in cheesecloth using butcher’s twine (called a bouquet garni), then drop it into the pot.
Simmer the stock over low to medium heat for 6 to 8 hours, returning every hour to skim off any impurities or fat that rises to the surface.
To finish, strain the stock through a chinois, fine mesh strainer, or cheesecloth to remove all the solids until you have a velvety veal bone stock.
Try using it in a demi-glace, espagnole sauce, pot roast, braised lamb shanks, or braised short ribs.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: For freshness, you can make this veal stock recipe up to 4 days before serving. It will taste even better because the flavors develop even more as it sits.
How to Store: Once your stock has cooled, pour it into individual airtight containers and store them in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for 3 to 4 months. If freezing, leave a little space at the top of the container for expansion. Let the leftovers thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.
How to Reheat: Pour your desired amount of stock into a saucepan and heat over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally until warm.
Chef Notes + Tips
- I made the stock in a 7 ½ gallon pot. If yours is smaller, split the bones between two pots to help them fit comfortably.
- Don’t discard the rendered fat from the roasted veal bones. Sautéing the vegetables in this liquid gold adds an extra layer of richness, making your stock even more flavorful and velvety.
- Caramelizing the tomato paste is a process known as pince. Do not skip this step or else its naturally tinny flavor will not cook off.
- Instead of sautéing the vegetables and tomato paste in the veal fat on the stove, you can place the pan on the middle rack in the oven and roast them at 450°F for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Gently simmer the stock over low heat for several hours to achieve the desired clear color and clean consistency. Do not boil the stock, as this will cause the fat to emulsify, making it cloudy and greasy.
- Skip wrapping the bouquet garni in cheesecloth if you plan on straining the stock through a chinois.
- Skim the fat from the top every hour with a ladle. Keeping the broth clear of these impurities will prevent any bitter flavors from developing.
More Ways to Use Veal Stock
Veal Stock
Ingredients
- 16 pounds veal bones
- 4 roughly chopped yellow onions, weighing a total of 1 pound
- 4 roughly chopped ribs of celery, weighing a total of 8 ounces
- 4 peeled or unpeeled roughly chopped carrots, weight a total of 8 ounces
- 12 ounces tomato paste
- 3 cups dry red wine
- 4 to 6 sprigs of thyme
- 4 to 6 parsley stems
- 15 to 18 peppercorns
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°.
- Divide the bones between two large roasting pans, place them in the oven on a middle and bottom rack, and roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Halfway through the process, rotate the pans from bottom to middle and middle to the bottom so that it can cook more evenly.
- Remove the bones and add them to an extra-large stock pot. I used a 7 ½ gallon pot, and it’s ok to divide it into two pots if you do not have 1 extra-large one.
- Cover the bones with about 3 gallons of cold water. The bones should be completely submerged under the water by about 2 inches. Begin to simmer it over low to medium heat.
- Drain the rendered veal bone fat from 1 pan into the other and place it on 1 or 2 burners over medium heat, depending on the size of the pan.
- Add in the vegetables and sauté for 25 to 30 minutes while frequently stirring with a spoon or until well caramelized. Feel free to also place the pan on a middle rack in the oven at 450° for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Next, stir in the tomato paste and cook for 8 to 10 minutes to deepen the flavor and becomes a rust like color. This is process is known as pince. Likewise, you can also add the pan to the oven on a middle rack in the oven at 450° for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer everything in the pan to the pot and then return the pan back to the burners over medium heat.
- Deglaze the pan with 1 ½ cups of red wine and scrape to remove all the fond and cook it until it is reduced in half and only ¾ cups remain. Pour the mixture into the stock pot. Feel free to add a ½ cup of water to the pan and swoosh it around to get all of it out and add it to the pot.
- Place the remaining pan that was drained of fat and that will still have fond on it to 1 or 2 burners over medium heat, depending on the size of the pan.
- Deglaze with the remaining 1 ½ cups of wine and scrape to remove all the fond and cook it until it is reduced in half and only ¾ cups remain. Pour the mixture into the stock pot.
- On a 1 x 1 square foot piece of cheesecloth, place to the center the thyme, parsley, peppercorns, and garlic. Fold up the corners and securely tie a double knot around it using butcher’s twine to ensure nothing is coming out. As a note, if you plan on using a chinois to drain everything, you can just place everything in the cheesecloth into the pot.
- Simmer the stock over low to medium heat for 6 to 8 hours and be sure to come back every hour to skim and discard any impurities or fat that collects at the top.
- Strain the stock completely through a chinois, fine mesh strainer, or cheesecloth. Use, or store in the fridge or freezer.
Veal Stock Recipe