It’s been a while….and we have been cooking up new recipes non-stop!

But more importantly, Matt & I have been sticking to our main lot in life in the kitchen: whatever we make, we try to make homemade. (Except for dairy products, although I am determined to learn how to make fresh mozzarella as soon as I can locate a fairly easy recipe!)

So let’s talk stock….even though I have talked about it at least once or twice before.

Chicken is the easiest one, of course! You get a whole roaster chicken and once you’ve cooked it for one meal, strip it as bare to the bones as you can, Crock Pot it with some onion, fresh herbs & seasonings (thyme, bay leaf, poultry seasoning), and cover the carcass with water….then you lid it, put it on low, and let the gatherings of deliciousness come together! Trust me on this, you will never go back to plain old chicken broth once you have made your own.

You can also do seafood rather easily too, especially if you have shrimp shells and fish bones! (I’ve tried the shrimp shells….it’s definitely an easy way to go and doesn’t require much time to make. And in a seafood soup or stew? YUMMY!)

But my newest favorite concoction? BEEF.

Yes, beef stock (if you cook with bone-in meats) can be quite delicious! And don’t be afraid to add the fat in there as well….the more flavor you can infuse into that stock, the better. And that fat has LOTS of flavor.

Matt and I had prime rib bones to work with (thanks to leftovers from Easter) and so with some bones, red cooking wine, herbs, and a whole lotta love, we created the most delicious stock to date! (You can ask my husband, he will wholeheartedly agree that this was the best stock he’s ever tasted….the proof in how quickly the Beef Noodle Soup we created did not last a week.)

While I do not have a picture of the process, I will have to make do with locating a picture of the soup:

But if you’d like my process….here’s my take on beef stock a la Vintzileos!

And as always, ENJOY!

~ Jenny V

---

Beef Stock

Ingredients:

Bones (Prime Rib, Steak, Roast, etc. If you’ve had a beef dish and there are bones, don’t be afraid to use them!)

1 cup red cooking wine

4-5 sprigs fresh thyme

2-3 cloves garlic (optional)

1-2 bay leaves

8-10 cups water (possibly more, but it has to be enough to cover the bones completely)

1 medium onion, sliced 

Directions:

1) In a Crock Pot, place the sliced onion along the bottom of the pot.

2) Add the bones, wine, herbs, and garlic, finishing with the water.

3) Turn the Crock Pot on low, cover with lid, and cook at least 8 hours. (My trick is to put the stock on an hour or two before bed, that way when I wake up in the morning, I turn it off and let it start to cool while I get ready for work. Remember, the longer you let those flavors meld, the better your stock will turn out!)