Accompanying article: Traditional Bone Stock
For stock making, warehouse in your fridge or freezer, every steak, rib, shank or oxtail bone. If necessary, augment them with neck or other bones available (ostensibly for your dog) from any good butcher. Favor marrow bones and, if necessary, ask your butcher to cut them into convenient sizes.
Your soup stock will have the flavor and energetic essence of the animal itself. For details about this energy tonic’s remarkable healing properties, see accompanying article.
Yield: Approximately 3 1/2 quarts stock
Bone Stock
2 pounds raw or cooked natural bones (buffalo, beef, lamb, pork or game)
2 tablespoons traditionally aged vinegar or 1/2 cup organic wine
Place the bones in a 6-8-quart, non-reactive stockpot with water to cover. Add vinegar or wine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes with the lid off. Skim off and discard any brown scum (soluble protein) that rises to the surface.
The cooking times are approximate as extraction from larger bones and/or older animals takes longer than extraction from smaller bones and/or younger animals.
Beef bones — 10 to 8 hours simmer (3-2 hours pressure cook)
Pork & lamb –3 hours simmer (1 1/4 hour pressure cook)
When the stock is cool enough to work with, strain through a sieve or a double layer of cheesecloth reserving all but the dregs. (Optional: Reuse the bones by adding fresh water and vinegar and cooking for a second or third extraction.) Note: while the stock itself has a pleasant aroma, expect the simmered bones to have a strong aroma.
Refrigerate the stock, tightly covered, for up to one week. Chilled stock is quivery like pudding.
To use the stock immediately, remove excess fat. Season to taste with salt and seasonings of choice and drink hot. Or, use as stock in soups, sauces and grains.
Variations:
* Add meat scraps, raw or cooked, to heighten flavor and nutrition.
* To increase the flavor, first roast the bones until browned.
* To enrich with both nutrients and flavor, add for the last ½ to 1 hour of cooking any of the vegetable ingredients listed in Vegetable Stock.
May you be well nourished,
Rebecca Wood
