Baked Bone Stock

Crispy baked bones

I've already written a recipe for vegetable broth and explained chicken stock this is a baked bone recipe. Baking meat bones gives depth to the meat flavor steeped out for a rich stocky umami flavors. Beef and lamb bones are brilliant for this recipe. If you have a dog then she'll appreciate an extra hunk of bone too.

The difference between what's in the soup can/box and in your soup pot starts with good broth or stock. Inspired by Brooklyn Boullion and Andrea Beaman I've been trying to incorporate stock into more of my meals. Being winter, those meals are usually soup. I try to make stock in advance, freezing it in different sized containers for different uses. I even do that crazy thing they suggest on every cooking show ever and freeze cubes in my ice tray then pop them out to be stored in bags. 3 cubes of stock can really improve your mashed potatoes/pasta/sauteed vegetables/sauce/soup/rice/braised meat etc. Its a secret weapon you keep in your freezer.

On the rare occasion I eat meat at home its almost always on the bone. After the meal is over, the bones go in the freezer until I have 3-5 hours to keep a pot hot on the stove. You can also buy bones at the butcher for not much money. I got these bones last time I bought a leg of lamb which I had trimmed on site. The bones came complimentary.


Baked Bone Stock

2 lb meat bones (beef or lamb)
10 cups of water
5 sage leaves
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dark miso paste or 1 tblsp soy sauce

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Lay bones out on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-60 minutes until brown. Turn half way through cooking. You should hear bubbling and spitting as some of the fat cooks off.

Reduced soup, increased flavor

Remove from sheet from oven and place bones in a stockpot with water, sage, bay, and miso paste. The miso paste is a little bit of a cheat. You want a little salt in your stock, but not too much as stock is an ingredient that will be salted later on down the road. Miso adds that touch of saltiness but also colors the stock brown. If you don't have miso, try soy sauce for a similar effect. Bring the stock up to a boil over medium high.

Lower heat and simmer. Foam and gunk will gather at the top of the stock. Spoon it off. Don't mix your stock. There is nothing to stir except that foamy gunk back into the soup, which clouds your stock. Allow stock to simmer for 90 minutes. The stock will reduce in volume, and fortify the stock flavor.

Turn heat off. Move pot to a cool burner and let sit for a half an hour. Strain stock into a clean bowl or pot. Press and shake bones to get all the stock out. One of the great things about being the cook is eating the little nuggets of goodness not fit for company. There are often little hunks of meat in the crevasses of bones. Pry them out with a fork or your teeth. Super flavorful from being next to the bone, and tender from hours of cooking. Its your kitchen, so get all caveman on that bone. Don't let it go to waste.

Uber tender hunks of meat in the stock bones

You may want to strain the fat off your stock. I don't, I think that fat is much more flavorful then butter or oil. If you do want to strain your stock, put it in the fridge. The fat will float to the top and congeal until its thick enough to be scraped off with a spoon. Pour stock into covered storage containers and freeze for future uses.