Brown Stock — Recipes

Ingredients

10 to 12 lb. veal bones, beef bones, or a combination
3 medium onions cut in half
4 large carrots trimmed and peeled
1 root end of a whole celery stalk, 4 inches long, plus 2 celery stalks
6 medium fresh tomatoes cut in half
1 cup parsley, stems only
¼ cup salt (this is about ½ of the normal amount of salt used, adjust for salt after completing each step if continuing further reductions)

cold water to cover ingredients; for a full recipe fill 20 qt. pot to 2 inches of the rim

Step One: Roast bones and some vegetable pieces

Place bones and one of the onions, 2 celery stalks and one of the carrots in a large roasting pan. Place pan uncovered in a preheated 400 degree oven. Roast for about ½ hour or until bones are very brown. Turn bones over and continue roasting for about 20 minutes until the reverse side is equally brown.

Step Two: Make pan bourbon

Remove darkened bones and vegetables from roasting pan and place in 20 quart stock pot. Place roasting pan over one or more burners and turn heat on to high. Quickly add two quarts of hot water, tap water is fine, to the roasting pan. Using a heavy spatula loosen all residue on bottom and sides of the roasting pan.

Step Three: Cook the stock

Pour the now completed pan bourbon into the stock pot. Add the remainder of the ingredients and top off with water to two inches of the rim. Turn heat to high until stock comes to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Skim the top of the stock for the first 15 minutes. Continue reduction for six hours.

Step Four: Strain and de-fat the stock

Pour the stock through a fine strainer. Discard bones and vegetables. Adjust salt to taste, but be careful if you plan to make an Espagnole from some or all of the stock – this process will reduce the volume of liquid further and increase the existing concentration of salt.
Refrigerate overnight and then remove solid fat on the surface with a large spoon.
Now that we have an adequate supply of brown stock we can turn our attention to using some of the stock to produce an Espagnole sauce. This French classic is one of the five recognized mother sauces and its uses are far reaching. It is also a key step in the production of demi-glace, which is the last stop on this step ladder of reduction. Even though the name “Espagnole” seems at first glance to be Spanish by origin, it is a fundamental building block of French cuisine. Hundreds of years ago France and Spain were at war with each other. During this time some culinary fusion occurred and the French sauce named Espagnole was one of the results. By adding wines, herbs, spices and cream to this mother sauce many specialized sauces are easily be made – such as a Robert sauce, Bordelaise sauce, Chateau sauce, Mushroom sauce, and even a Cider sauce, just to name a few. Another advantage is that you can quickly produce a rich pan sauce with no additional thickeners or added fat