Bone Stock at Home Starts With Cold Water

Good bone stock comes from bones covered by about 2 inches of cold water, brought up slowly, skimmed for the first 20 to 30 minutes, then held at a simmer so low the surface barely shivers. Chicken needs 3 to 4 hours, beef or veal 6 to 8, and fish only 30 to 45 minutes. Strain it without pressing, chill it fast, and don't salt it until you use it.

The heat decides whether it comes out clear or murky.

The mistake: letting it boil

Most cloudy, greasy stock was boiled. A rolling boil breaks melted fat into tiny droplets and suspends them in the liquid, the same way you'd emulsify a vinaigrette. Once that happens you can't skim it back out, and the stock tastes heavy and flat.

Starting with cold water matters for the same reason. As the pot warms, proteins release slowly, rise as gray foam, and lift off with a ladle. Drop bones into hot water and that protein sets in the liquid instead of on top of it. The foam isn't harmful, but if you leave it in, it muddies the flavor.

Store-bought broth can't fix this for you either. It's already seasoned and usually thin, so it won't reduce cleanly and it turns salty in a sauce before it adds any body. Homemade stock stays neutral and sets to a jelly when cold, so it can reduce into a glossy pan sauce.

Light or dark stock?

The difference is whether you roast the bones first. Light stock uses raw bones and tastes clean, which suits consommé, white wine sauces, vegetable soups and risotto. Dark stock uses bones roasted to deep brown, and the color and caramelized flavor carry braises, red wine sauces and stews.

For dark stock, spread the bones on a sheet tray and roast at 220°C (425°F) until deep brown, about 40 to 50 minutes. Smear on a spoonful of tomato paste for the last 10 minutes so it caramelizes slightly. It adds color and a little acidity. Then simmer as below.

The bones decide the body. For chicken, use carcasses, backs, wings and feet if you can get them. Feet are loaded with collagen and give you stock that jiggles when cold. For beef or veal, use knuckles, oxtail and marrow bones. For fish, use frames and heads from lean white fish like snapper or halibut. Skip salmon and mackerel, because their fat turns rancid quickly and makes the stock taste off.

How to make bone stock, step by step

1. Blanch the bones. Cover them with cold water, bring to a boil, then drain and rinse under cold water. This strips out blood and impurities. It's worth the 15 minutes for beef and pork bones, but for a pot of roast chicken carcasses I'd skip it.
2. Cover with fresh cold water. Return the bones to a clean pot and add cold water to about 2 inches (5 cm) above them. Leave the vegetables out for now.
3. Bring it up slowly and skim. Heat over medium until it reaches a gentle simmer, skimming the gray foam as it rises. Plan on 20 to 30 minutes of skimming. This is where you get a clear stock.
4. Turn it down to a shiver. Drop the heat to the lowest setting that keeps a bubble or two breaking at the edge. If it starts to roll, pull the pot half off the burner.
5. Add the aromatics late. Add a mirepoix of onion, carrot and celery, plus a bay leaf, a few peppercorns, thyme and parsley stems, for the last 90 minutes or so. Vegetables go mushy long before the bones finish giving up their collagen. Garlic is optional. Use fresh produce, because limp, slimy vegetables make flat stock.
6. Simmer to time. Follow the chart below. Fish bones over-extract fast and turn bitter, so don't let fish stock run long.
7. Strain without pressing. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer, lined with cheesecloth if you have it. Pressing the solids forces sediment through and clouds the stock.
8. Chill it fast. Set the pot in an ice bath and stir until it's cool, then refrigerate. The fat will harden on top and lift off in one piece.

For fish and vegetable stock, the aromatics go in with the water, since the whole cook is shorter than 90 minutes.

Storing and using it

The ice bath isn't fussiness. A big pot of stock left on the counter cools slowly enough to sit in the range where bacteria grow. The FDA Food Code standard is to get cooked food from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F within the next 4. An ice bath, or splitting the stock into shallow containers, gets you there.

Never salt stock while it cooks. It's a base, and if you reduce a salted stock for a sauce, the salt concentrates until it's unusable. Season the dish you make with it instead.

To save freezer space, reduce the strained stock by half or more and freeze it in ice cube trays, then add water back when you need it. Reduce it much further and you're making glace, which is how restaurant kitchens keep sauce bases on hand. Save onion skins, celery tops, leek greens and roast chicken carcasses in a freezer bag, and when it's full, you have a pot of stock.

If you're making stock for a braise, roast the bones. If it's going into a risotto or a light soup, don't.

Related: Pan Sauce Cheat Sheet: A Glossy Sauce in 5 Minutes