Ingredients
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2 kilograms veal bones
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3 Carrotspeeled and chopped roughly
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3 onionspeeled and chopped roughly
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3 stalks celerywashed and chopped roughly
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5 Bay Leaves
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black peppecorns
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Water
Directions
With this base stock you can make virtually any dark sauce you need.
One of the nicest things about dining out in restaurants is experiencing foods you can’t make at home, having said that, it doesn’t have to be that way. All chefs during their first year of training are taught how to make perfect stocks, stocks from which they are later taught to make virtually every sauce possible. Once you learn to make the perfect stock, all those restaurant sauces that make the meal worth paying top dollar for will be well within your reach.
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees (430 farenheit)
- Separate the bones and spread them out in a baking tray and bake for approx 50 minutes, turning once during the cooking process, or until browned nicely.
- Remove them from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Place the carrot, celery, onion, bay leaves and approx 10 peppercorns in a large stock pot.
- Using tongs carefully remove the bones from the tray and place them in the pot.
- Place the pot on the stove and fill with cold water, ensure the bones are completely immersed in the water and then fill half that amount again, (should be about 3-4 litres or 1 gallon).
- Turn the stove burner to high and bring the stock to the boil, once boiling reduce to a very slow simmer, and simmer for at least 6 hours (the longer, the richer the stock I recommend up to 24 hours, particularly if making a Jus with this stock. If cooking for this long please ensure that you keep an eye on the water level and add some water as required throughout the cooking period; do not let it dry up).
- Turn off the heat and allow the stock to cool enough that you can safely strain it without burning yourself. If you do not have a large enough sieve take the bones out with tongs first.
- After all the large items have been strained and discarded out of the stock, pour the stock through a fine sieve in order to remove all the fine particles (the sieve may need to be cleaned a few times during this process). Muslin (cheesecloth) can be used as well.
- Place the strained stock in the fridge for a few hours or overnight, after which the fat will have solidified on top, take the fat off and discard.
- You now have one very fine stock on your hands.
- Personally however at this time I like to make it even more flavourful, darker and richer.
- These next steps are optional.
- Repeat the entire process with new ingredients and use this already prepared stock as the water in the second recipe, top with water as needed.
