Why it works: Beef and veal are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,784 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Brown Stock
Ingredients
Directions
Brown the meat
Place the beef, veal, and trotters or cow-heel in a covered stewpan. Cook gently until the meat is brown and nearly dry.
Simmer
Add enough boiling water to cover the meat completely. Bring to a boil, skimming frequently.
Season with whole peppercorns, salt, and any roots, herbs, or vegetables you have.
Reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 to 6 hours.
Strain and store
Pour the broth off the meat and let it cool overnight.
The next morning, remove the scum and fat, and store the broth in a stone jar for later use.
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
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Beef + vealtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,784 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Shin of beef
- Provides collagen and meat flavor that gives the broth body and savoriness as it simmers.
- Knuckle of veal
- Adds gelatin-rich bones and connective tissue that give the finished stock a silky body.
- Sheep's trotters or cow-heel
- Contributes gelatin from connective tissue, helping the cooled broth set and feel richer.
The step that matters
Browning the meat until nearly dry. Slow browning builds deep, roasted flavor through the Maillard reaction. Pale or steamed meat yields a flatter, less colored broth.
“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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