To Prepare Calf’s Feet Stock
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the feet
Scald the calf's feet in boiling water for a few minutes.
Scrape off the hair with a blunt-edged knife.
Remove the hooves by striking them against a strong table or sink.
Wash the feet thoroughly.
Divide the feet at the joint and split the claws, removing any fat between them.
Make the stock
Place the feet in a pot with 1 gallon of cold water.
Boil gently for 6 to 7 hours until the flesh separates from the bones and the liquid reduces by half.
Strain the stock and let it cool.
Remove any fat from the top before using.
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
- Calf's feet
- Release gelatin and collagen from connective tissue, giving the stock body and a set texture when cooled.
- Cold water
- Serves as the cooking liquid that extracts flavor and gelatin from the feet during long, gentle simmering.
The step that matters
Boil gently for 6 to 7 hours. A hard, rapid boil can emulsify fat into the liquid and make the stock cloudy. A gentle simmer keeps it clear while collagen slowly converts to gelatin.
“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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