Economical Stock

Ingredients

• 4 quarts liquor in which a joint of meat has been boiled
• trimmings of fresh meat or poultry
• shank bones
• roast beef bones
• vegetables
• spices
• seasoning

Method

Start with hot stock: the liquor in which meat has already been boiled is your base, not cold water. This saves time and preserves flavour compounds that would otherwise leach from fresh ingredients. Combined with the meat trimmings, shank bones, and roast beef bones, you're building a stock that leverages both already-extracted gelatin and fresh collagen about to convert. The vegetables and spices go in at the outset — there's no benefit to adding them later.

Bring the pot to a rolling simmer, not a gentle one. The agitation matters. A true simmering action — one where steam rises steadily but the surface breaks into occasional bubbles — forces the fat and gelatin into emulsion with the liquid. If you keep it too low, those elements stay separated and your stock turns greasy and weak. Skim aggressively in the first thirty minutes. Use a flat skimmer and work the surface in deliberate strokes, removing the grey-brown foam and any coagulated blood that rises — this is denatured protein and spent myoglobin. Stop skimming once the surface clears. Maintain this simmer for six hours without a lid. Covering traps steam and turns the stock cloudy.

After six hours, the bones will be soft enough to crumble between your fingers and the liquid will have reduced by roughly a third. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean pot, pressing gently on the solids to extract their gelatin without forcing bone fragments and vegetable pulp through. Discard everything in the sieve.

Cool the stock quickly. Pour it into a shallow tray — depth matters here — and place it uncovered in a cold space or an ice bath. Once cooled to room temperature, it will set to a light jelly if your extraction was thorough. This gel is proof of proper poultry and beef collagen conversion. Remove any surface fat once it solidifies, or leave it on to protect the stock during storage. Keep refrigerated for up to five days, or freeze for three months. Before use, reheat gently and taste — adjust seasoning only after it's hot, since salt perception changes with temperature.