Beef Stock

As Spring approaches I decided to sneak a few more batches of soup in before the weather warms up too much, which might not be until June in western Washington.  As mentioned previously I had picked up a few beef soup bones from Colvin Ranch so I decided to make a batch of beef stock that I could use in future soups.

As long as you have a handful of different vegetables on hand making stock is a pretty simple process.  When making beef stock the first step is to sear the meat and bones in a stock pot.

While the meat was browning I roughly chopped the vegetables which included carrots, onions, and celery.

I added the vegetables along with a couple of bay leaves and a few whole peppercorns, then I covered everything in the pot with water.

The stock is set to simmer on the stove for a couple of hours, until everything has broken down.

After the stock finished cooking I poured it through a colander with a bowl underneath to catch the liquid below.

You can use the finished stock right away or freeze it in containers for a later date.