Clear Beef Stock
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Remove the skin from the beef.
Have the butcher break the bone and cut the meat into small pieces.
Add the beef pieces to a pot with 5 quarts of cold water and 2 teaspoons of salt.
Simmer
Bring to a boil slowly, then reduce heat to just below boiling.
Simmer for 6 to 8 hours, until the meat falls from the bone.
Strain and chill
Strain the stock and cool quickly.
Once cold, skim off the fat.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Shin or shank of beef
- Provides meat and bone, releasing collagen and gelatin that give the stock body and richness.
- Cold water
- Serves as the solvent that slowly extracts flavor and gelatin from the beef and bone.
The step that matters
Bring to a boil slowly, then reduce heat to just below boiling. Starting with cold water and heating gently lets proteins and fat release gradually. A hard boil emulsifies fat into the liquid and clouds the stock, so a gentle simmer keeps it clear.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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