Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

6 lb (or more) beef and veal
-bones, sawed into pieces by
-the butcher (try to have
-the pieces cut no more than
-2 to 2-inches long or wide
3 1/2 lb (to 4 lbs) boneless shin of
-beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 lg Unpeeled onions, one sliced,
-the other left whole
2 lg Carrots, scrubbed and cut up
-coarsely
Water as needed
2 Celery ribs with leaves, cut
-up
1/2 ts Dried thyme, crumbled
1 md Bay leaf
1 Whole clove
2 Ripe tomatoes, coarsely
-chunked
1 Clove garlic, unpeeled,
-left whole
2 Or 3 sprigs parsley

Makes 2 cups (reconstituted, about 8 quarts, or 1 cup of broth per
Tbsp. of essence. Refrigerate for weeks or freeze nearly forever.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In one or two large, shallow roasting pans spread all the bones and
half of the shin beef, reserving the other half in the refrigerator.
Add the sliced onion and the cut up carrots. Put the pan or pans
into the oven and brown the ingredients for 40 to 50 minutes,
stirring and turning them from time to time; you want a good brown
color. Pour off any fat and put the bones, meat, and vegetables into
a very large stock pot. Pour 2 or 3 cups of water into the roasting
pan(s), then set over direct heat and stir and scrape to dissolve all
the brown bits. Pour the deglazing liquid into the stock pot. Add
enough water to cover everything by about 2 inches. Add the celery,
thyme, bay leaf, the second onion (stuck with a single clove,
tomatoes, garlic, and parsley.

Bring the liquid to a boil, then adjust the heat so that the pot,
partially covered, maintain a gentle simmer, with only an occasional
bubble. Skim off any foam at the beginning and cook everything for 7
or 8 hours, skimming occasionally (this is to achieve clarity in the
finished essence). The simmering can be interrupted for several
hours, or overnight; let the pot sit, uncovered, for up to 8 hours at
room temperature, then resume cooking when convenient. (Refrigerate
for longer times or if the weather is warm.)

After you judge all possible flavor has been extracted from the
solids in the pot, strain them all out, pressing on them with a spoon
to extract all the juices. Skim all fat from the strained broth,
which by now will amount to about 4 or 5 quarts. Strain the broth
through a cheesecloth-lined strainer into the washed out pot (or into
a smaller one) and add the remaining beef, which you have meanwhile
chopped or ground to the fineness of hamburger.

Resume simmering, skimming off fat and scum about every half hour.
After cooking the stock with the beef for 1-1/2 hours, strain out the
meat, pressing it to extract all possible flavor.

Strain the broth through the cheesecloth again a begin the final
reduction. Resume simmering the stock, cooking the ever-strengthening
essence gently as long as necessary for it to become a syrupy
substance that will coat a cool metal spoon; this may take up to 2
hours. (For the clearest essence, skim frequently. However, the
flavor of the finished product will be fine if you aren't too fussy
about the skimming; just be sure to skim off any fat that appears.

The essence is finished when it passes the metal-spoon test. Strain it
through a fine meshed metal strainer into small jars or pots and let
it cool, uncovered. Cover it closely and store in the refrigerator,
or freeze it. If frozen, scoop out with a hot spoon as needed.

Note: The exact yield will depend on how much collagen was contained
in the bones and meat--the more collagen, the sooner the jellying
stage is reached. The cooled essence will be firm, almost rubbery,
and highly concentrated in flavor. If any surface mold should
eventually develop, remove it--it's harmless.

Shared By: Pat Stockett

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