Beef Stock

A stock is the liquid left over once you've boiled up vegetables, chicken, beef etc

When you've got a beef stock in the fridge or freezer, the preparation for your next meal just got easier (and tastier!).

Beef stock can be used for many things - a base for casseroles, curries, soups - you get the idea.

And don't forget the wonderful byproduct of making a stock...the original solid ingredients are kept and used for pie fillings, curries or stew. Try this delicious Beef stew

• beef (we've used 2 kg of beef bonesand 2 kg of blade steak)
• 3 onions
• 3 large carrots
• 3 lengths of celery (ours was frozen)
• 4 L water
• salt

herbs

• parsley
• bay leaf
• fennel seeds
• thyme

Prepare the vegetables into good sized chunks.

Cut the meat into good sized pieces and sear it over a high heat using a little oil to stop it sticking. Once the meat is cooked, set it aside.

Wrap your herbs in a piece of plain cotton and tie the end with cotton string.

Congratulations! You've just made a bouquet garni!

Put your vegetables, bouquet garni, salt and cooked meat in a large pot and add 4 liters of water.

Now you'll need to find a good book to read, catch up on some chores or something because your pot will be on the heat for 5 hours at a medium heat. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't boil dry...if it's getting low, add more water (remembering it's the liquid we're aiming for here).

Remove the solids from your pot and put to one side for use in a new recipe or prepare them for freezing.

Use a colander to strain out the smaller pieces.

No wait, that's your expired bouquet garni...now sounding a lot better than it looks. You should be able to discard the contents and wash the cotton for reuse at a later time.

Allow your stock to cool - this will allow any fat to solidify on the surface which you can scoop off. I put this in the freezer for later use.

Finally put your stock in an airtight container and refrigerate or freeze. It's very useful to label what the contents are.

This recipe yielded 2.5 liters of well flavored stock. And as you can see I included a note to add water.

That's it. I'd love to hear how you use your beef stock.

Enjoy!