With all the cold weather we have been having it couldn’t be a better time for some beef stew. I decided that I would try to make it as easy as possible and while making as much as possible from scratch. This included making my own stock. I have never made beef stock, but thought it would be fun to try. I looked at a few different recipes and had an idea of how I wanted to make it. I used a femur bone cut into lengths of 1.5 in.(about 6 lbs) I roasted the bones in a pan for about an hour at 400F. Then added tomato paste,
Marrow bones after the one hour roasting
large chunks of carrots, and onions on top of the bones. After draining the fat off, put them into either a big pot, crock pot, or a roaster. I used a roaster and covered the bones with water (about a gallon and a half). If there is anything sticking to the bottom of your pan you roasted in either use a wine, beer, or water to get that off and add to your bones. I used Troegs Mad Elf in mine.
For seasoning I added 5 bay leaves, a pinch of sage, about 15 whole peppercorns, and 5 cloves of garlic. I left the roaster on and went to bed (300 F). In the morning, I used a sieve while pouring the stock into a container. Ideally you will let it cool down so that the fat layer on top hardens and becomes easy to remove.
For the Stew:
12 C. Beef Stock
2 lbs. Stew Cubes
5 Medium Red Potatoes Cubed
2 C. Chopped Carrots
1/2 C Diced Onions
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1 C. Barley
1 C. Frozen Peas
Instructions: Add beef stock to crock pot on low heat. Sear stew cubes. Once stew cubes have been seared, add to the crock pot along with potatoes, carrots, onion, bay leaf, and salt. Leave on low for at least 4 hours. Half an hour before serving, add barley and frozen peas. Serve on top of warm biscuits or cornbread.
Roseda Beef