Veal Stock
This homemade Veal Stock Recipe rewards you with a deeply flavorful and collagen-rich base for sauces, soups, stews, and braised beef dishes.
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.
Notes
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.
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
Nutrition
Calories: 479kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 10gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.2gSodium: 1202mgPotassium: 2157mgFiber: 13gSugar: 30gVitamin A: 18886IUVitamin C: 56mgCalcium: 165mgIron: 5mg