I was going through my downstairs freezer today and found 4 bottom round steaks that have been in there for a really long time. they were covered in ice and didn't look very good. I felt really bad about throwing them out, so I decided to try and make a beef stock with them. I threw them in a pot with some water and some seasonings and they have been simmering for about 3 hours now. I think its starting to get pretty good, but probably needs a few more hours to concentrate the flavors. Probably gonna make about 1 gallon of stock.

If I was going to make my own stock again, I would probably use beef bones, veggies, the works, but for using forgotten steaks, its not bad.

anybody else make their own chicken, beef, vegetable, or other kinds of stock?
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Whenever I cook a whole chicken, I always boil the carcass and strain thru cheesecloth and freeze for future use. I should get more creative with veggies and spices.
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Beef stock is fairly easy to make, as long as you follow simple rules such as those in the Joy of Cooking. I almost always use beef short ribs and get some marrow bones from the butcher. What else you put in is based on your choices and what you intend to do with the stock, but I am fond of adding a mirepoix and lots of fresh cracked pepper.

The one thing that I never put in a stock is salt. Salt is for the table, in my house.

edit: here is a good article on making stock with mirepoix.
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Making turkey stock tomorrow. :-)
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Mark, that sounds amazing.

I made a smoked turkey stock last year and it came out amazing.
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http://www.food.com/recipe/mirepoix-119171

sorry
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Sweet
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I make stock as often as I can: chicken, beef, turkey and pork. As others have pointed out, you can freeze the stock and then you always have some when you need it. Or better yet, when you get a "hankerin" for something. This time of year I always want the pork stock for split pea, or the beef stock for some hearty bean soup.
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We usually make our own chicken stock and we have a bunch of it frozen in gallon freezer bags and tupperware. This was my first beef stock and I just put it in some mason jars and put them in the fridge. Probably gonna use up all of it in the next week.
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What do you use it for? Other than soup? I'm not much of a cook, but doing more and more. However, little/no soups or stews. I save some chicken stock a few months ago and put it in the fridge....it's still there. Never figured out what to do with it.
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I think you actually made broth, not stock. From what I recall, stock requires bones, but the lines in home cooking are quite fuzzy.

As for me...rather than buying the overpriced individual pieces, I tend to buy whole chickens and butcher them myself which leaves me with necks, hearts and backs, which I wrap up in a few layers of saran wrap and toss into a bag in the freezer. Once I get a few pounds in there, I'll make stock from them.

Same with raw shrimp shells, save them in ziplock bags in the freezer until you have a few pounds and make a stock from them.

For beef and fish, I just buy the bones. Never bothered to make pork/ham stock - not exactly sure why, I just never have.

While it doesn't fit the classical model of "how to" I actually prefer a pressure cooker to the stovetop or crockpot methods. Although I will say that short of going through the extra work of making a consomme, the clearest simple stocks I've ever made came out of a crock pot.
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A base for soup is certainly the most common use, but you can use it chili, to make sauces, saute vegetables, for deglazing, in place of water when making rice or grains, even as part of a brine.

Think of it as a liquid flavor enhancer.
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I make chicken and lobster stocks all the time. I freeze them in 2 cup blocks.

I also will retain the beef juice if braising a chuck roast. I usually just add 2 tbl of basalmic when cooking a chuck roast so all the liquid is just juice. I freeze the juice in ice cube tray and then transfer to ziplock.
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Several uses have been mentioned, but a major one has been left out: gravy.

Sometimes you just want a gravy (meatloaf and mashed potatoes!) but the meat doesn't provide the base. Off to the freezer!

I use tapioca flour to thicken mine since I don't have to boil it. Be very careful because, like Xantham Gum, you don't need to use a lot.
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I didn't forget to mention gravy, I left it out intentionally. :-)

I hate the stuff. :-)
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I recently used tapioca flour to thicken up a stew; it was the first time I used it. Normally, I use flour. The tapioca worked and was not bad, but it did not impart the flavor or texture that I am used to (grew up with)...
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Lot of awesome advice here. I'm probably gonna use what I made last night to make a vegetable beef stew next week.
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Beef and chicken stock are staples here too. I'm a big fan of roasting the bones prior to boiling...just a flavor preference. Like Moses, I freeze most of it in 2 cup blocks. I usually freeze a couple ice cube trays of it too. Sometimes I don't need the whole two cups and a couple of cubes work very well.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of many thickeners. Corn starch and flour usually do it for me. I love using a Roux and this strategy has been a huge benefit for me.

http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Making-a...ux/Detail.aspx

Being able to have roux and good stock on hand makes for easy (and delicious) pan sauces.
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I love making stock from the carcass left over after making beer-can chicken. Throw the whole thing in a big stock pot with a whole onion, a handful of baby carrots, a celery stick (including the leaves) that's broke in half to better fit in the pot, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a couple dozen peppercorns, and a handful of parsley leaves (my measurements are incredibly precise, as you can tell). Cover with water and slowly bring to a boil. Let simmer for about two hours. Strain and put into 1 cup portions. Freeze some.

I use it when making soup, rice, and gravy/sauces. My favorite things to use it in are red beans and rice, split pea soup, and chicken with white bean chili.
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