Homemade beef stock, the foundation to a good soup

Home-made beef stock (also known as broth) will make any soup, stew or main dish taste better, and you won't get all the commercial ingredients that are found in the canned stock. Plus, this is a great and tasty alternative to throwing away your the bones and fat from that t-bone steak or those beef ribs that you just smoked. The stock is, literally, the foundation to the best soup or stew!

Special tools: Large stock pot; we use a 20-quart pot
Preparation time: About 10 minutes
Cooking time: Several hours, the longer the better
Yield: 2 or more quarts, depending on how many ingredients you have on hand

Beef bones, fat, gristle and small leftovers from any cut of beef, fresh or frozen
1 onion, diced, optional
2 - 6 cleves of garlic, diced, optional
1 - 2 stalks celery, optional
1 carrot, peeled, diced; optional
Water, as needed

Combine all ingredients in the stock pot, and add enough water to cover generously; a couple of inches or so. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cook, uncovered for several hours at low heat to blend the ingredients and intensify the flavor. Check every half hour and add water as needed, to cover the ingredients by a couple of inches.

Let stock cool in the pot. Drain and discard solids. I like to store my stock in 1 quart freezer bags and freeze until needed. It will keep for several months in the freezer.

You don't need to measure the ingredients and you don't need precise measurements to make good homemade stock. Just dump it all into the stock pot, fresh or frozen, and cook low and slow.

We like to use this stock for soup, chili, menudo or stew. I think you'll like it!

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