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Soup

Second Stock

A stock made from meat scraps, bones, water, vegetables, and dripping, simmered for hours until it forms a jelly.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Second Stock

Ingredients

Directions

Make the stock

  1. Combine meat scraps and bones in a pot.

  2. Add 1 quart of water for every pound of meat and bones.

  3. Boil gently for 1 hour.

  4. Add vegetables and boil for an additional 4.5 to 5 hours.

  5. Strain the stock.

Finish and set

  1. Fry vegetables in a little dripping before adding them to the meat for more flavor.

  2. Let the stock cool; it should form a strong jelly when cold.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

Meat scraps
Provide the main meaty flavor and savory depth in the stock.
Bones
Release gelatin during long simmering, which helps the stock set into a jelly when cold.
Vegetables
Add aromatic flavor to the stock as it simmers.

The step that matters

Simmer gently rather than boiling hard. A gentle simmer draws flavor and gelatin from bones and meat while keeping the stock clear. A hard boil emulsifies fat into the liquid and clouds it, and the long cooking time means the stock can reduce too far if not watched.

“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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