Basic Veal Stock

I made a basic veal stock the other day because there were a few meat dishes I wanted to make and in order to get a nice sauce for those dishes, you need a good veal stock.

A pot of good veal stock to a chef is like a pot of gold. The aroma, the dark caramel colour, the number of hours tending to it and lovingly watching over it, I love making stock.

It is a pity I dont have a deep freezer, if I did, I would have veal stock, chicken stock and fish stock all stocked up!

Here's how my basic veal stock goes:

For a 17 litre stock pot.

1.5 kg veal or beef shanks
2 pigs trotters
1 carrot
2 stalks celery
1 leek
2 onions
5 sprigs of thyme
10 peppercorns
2 bay leafs
10 juniper berries

I always ask my chinatown butcher to cut all the bones and trotters for me into approximately 5cm by 5 cm sized pieces. It really makes things a breeze when is already all butchered up. Plus, smaller pieces allow all the flavour from the bones to easily 'come out'.

In a large roasting tray, arrange veal shanks and trotters. Scatter on your mirepoix (carrot, celery, onion and leeks). Bake this in a 200˚c oven for around 45 minutes. Constantly turning them around to ensure everything has an even dark brown colour.

The colour from the caramelisation of the bones and vegetables is absolutely ESSENTIAL to the stock. The body and soul of the stock comes from this very important caramelization. (Of course, this does not apply if you are making a fish stock or white chicken stock)

I know I should have taken pictures but I did not have my camera available. I will try to describe it as vividly as I can and take pictures next time.

When the lot is adequately browned, put into the big stock pot and throw in the rest of the ingredients. Fill it up with cold water and bring to a boil.

The reason we use cold water is because if you use hot water, you seal off the 'cell openings'/pores on the bones and hence the flavour will not 'come out'. When using cold water, you allow the flavour to be coaxed into the cooking liquid.

It is very important while waiting for it to come to boil to SKIM the top of any scum. This ensures a clear stock. Scum is the layer of froth looking dirt that appear on the surface and Skim if the process of removing that scum. DO IT! Don't be lazy, it really adds to the final product especially if you are going to reduce it for as glace de viande.

When the stock has come to the boil, put it on a simmer for 6-8 hours.

After 6-8 hours, strain the stock. You should have a wonderful smelling kitchen and a luscious looking stock.

This stock can store in a freezer for 2 -3 months and in a fridge for around 2 weeks.

The following posts shows what I did with my stock.