Calf’s-foot Stock
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stock
Split the calf's feet and place them in a stewpan with the water.
Simmer gently for 5 hours, skimming frequently.
Strain through a fine sieve dipped in cold water into an uncovered earthen pan.
Chill and clarify
Refrigerate overnight and remove all fat the next morning.
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 into the water, giving the stock body and a natural setting quality when chilled.
- Water
- Acts as the cooking liquid that extracts flavour and gelatin from the calf's feet during simmering.
The step that matters
Simmer gently for 5 hours, skimming frequently. A gentle simmer extracts gelatin without clouding the liquid, while boiling vigorously emulsifies fat and impurities into the stock. Skimming removes the foam that rises, keeping the result clear and clean-tasting.
“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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