Beef Stock

Roast the bones

1. Preheat oven to 425f and set the rack on the middle level. Place the beef bones on a baking sheet (use two if overcrowded) and drizzle the olive oil on the bones. Using your hands coat the bones with the oil.
2. Roast the beef bones for 1 hour, turning the bones at the halfway point.
3. Once the bones are roasted, place them into a 16-quart or larger stockpot.

Deglaze the roasting trays

1. Pour off the fat from the sheet pan.
2. Place the empty beef roasting sheet pan on the stovetop and turn the heat to medium. Add 3/4 cup of water to the pan and scrape all of the brown bits off the pans with a flat wooden spoon or a spatula. Pour all of the liquid from both pans into the pot.

Simmer the stock

1. Add all of the remaining ingredients into the pot and add enough water to cover all of the ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Once boiling skim the scum from the top with a large flat spoon or ladle. Turn the heat down to a very low level where the stock is very gently simmering.
3. Simmer for 9-10 hours, skimming the scum every 45-60 minutes.

Straining the stock

1. After 9-10 hours the stock will have reduced substantially. Turn off the heat and strain the stock. Place a sieve or colander over an empty pot and line it with cheesecloth or coffee filters.
2. First, gently remove most of the bones and vegetables from the pot then pour or ladle the stock (a small pot with a long handle works well as a big ladle) into the cheesecloth-lined strainer.
3. You should be left with approximately 4 quarts of stock. If you have substantially more than that simply reduce the stock in a pot before storing.
4. Let the stock cool then divide into storage containers. After refrigerating or freezing the solidified fat will be at the top of each container, protecting the flavor of the stock. The fat can be saved for another use or easily removed and discarded right before using. See below for storage notes.