Basic Meat Stock

Making stock from the leftover bones from a roast will ensure you always have a good base for soups, risottos and gravies. Making stocks at home really help us get the most from our meat joint and are a great alternative to stock cubes and powders or the fresh stocks you find in the chiller cabinets of supermarkets. Even if you don’t have time to make stock, freeze the bones from the roast and make the stock when you have more time. The best bones for meat stock are beef or lamb. Pork bones can often be too fatty and strong in flavour. It’s best if the bones are roasted off in the oven first to give a much stronger flavour and darker colour.

By Caroline Marson

Cookery advisor

All recipes by Caroline Marson

Ingredients

Makes approx 1.2 litres

900g bones
1 large onion, quartered (skin on)
2 large carrots, scrubbed and chopped in half
1- 2 leeks halved
Few sprigs of thyme, parsley
A small bayleaf.

1 tablespoon Sunflower oil

Sunflower oil

It is tasteless and heats to a high temperature so is a good all round oil.

Ideal for pan-frying, mayonnaise, dressings and marinades.
1 teaspoon Black peppercorns
Black peppercorns

Best used as a condiment.
They can be lightly crushed and used to spice up a creamy sauce or to coat fillet steak or chicken breasts.
- Although it might seem odd, grinding black pepper over a bowl of strawberries enhances the flavour of the fruit.
- Pepper that is pre-ground is not fresh tasting and often has other ingredients mixed in.
- Choose the type of mill that suits you, and if you want coarser pepper you can loosen the screw on the top of the mill or crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar

Instructions

Put the bones in a roasting tin with a tablespoon of sunflower oil or dripping and cook at 220°C (425°F) mark 7 for 30-40 minutes.
Put the roasted bones in a large pan, add onion, carrots, leeks, black peppercorns and a few sprigs of thyme, parsley and a small bayleaf. Cover with cold water, bring up to the boil and remove the scum from the surface with a large spoon and turn down the heat. Simmer for about 4 hours to extract all the flavour from the bones.
Top up with hot water if the level of liquid should fall below the other ingredients.
Cool a little, then strain the stock into a large bowl. Discard the bones and vegetables. Leave to settle for a few minutes, then remove the fat from the surface by placing a piece of absorbent kitchen paper over the surface, or if it is not going to be used immediately, leave the fat to settle in a surface layer which can then be easily lifted off when cool.

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