Here is a recipe for making Brown Beef Stock from scratch that’s perfect for the traditional foods home cook. You can use your stock as a base for making sauces, gravies, stews, and soups, and braising vegetables. This recipe is easier than the more complicated Escoffier Technique.
For example, with this simpler recipe, you’ll brown both the marrow bones and the meat in the oven together rather than separately. This time-saving approach enables you to create a flavorful, rich stock in half the time. Best of all, your brown beef stock will still be perfect for making restaurant-quality sauces and the best base for Traditional French Onion Soup.
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Table of Contents
- What is a Brown Stock?
- Brown Beef Stock Recipe
- Ingredients to Make Brown Beef Stock
- How to Make Brown Beef Stock
- Variations
- Recipe Tips
- Pro Tip
- Storing and Reheating Brown Beef Stock
- How to Use Brown Beef Stock
- How to Reuse Brown Stock Ingredients
- Bone Broth Recipes
- Looking for Beef Shanks and Marrow Bones?
- Download Your Free 36-Page Pantry List
- The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
- Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy
- Kitchen Academy Videos
- Brown Beef Stock Recipe Recipe
- Shop for items used in this blog post or video
What is a Brown Stock?
Brown Stock or Brown Beef Stock is a rich and flavorful liquid that is created by simmering roasted bones and meat in water with aromatics for an extended period of time until the liquid turns a dark brown color. You can use this stock as a foundation for making sauces with a deep flavor profile or as a base for soup, particularly for Traditional French Onion Soup.
Brown Beef Stock Recipe
A Brown Beef Stock, also known as a Brown Stock, is a key ingredient chefs use to prepare rich sauces and delicious soups in upscale restaurants. Typically, these chefs follow complicated recipes that take 12 hours or more to make.
However, as a home cook, you can still create an equally flavorful brown beef stock in a shorter time and with fewer steps by following the easy culinary tips and tricks I show you. You’ll find this recipe much easier than the more complicated Escoffier Technique.
Ingredients to Make Brown Beef Stock
Find the full printable recipe with ingredients below.
- 3 lbs Beef Shanks
- 3 lbs Beef Marrow Bones
- 1/4 Cup Tomato Paste
- 1 Onion, unpeeled, cut in half with each half-quartered
- 2 Carrots, unpeeled and rough chopped
- 2 Stalks of Celery, rough chopped
- 1 Bunch of Herbs (Thyme and Bay Leaves work well)
- 1 Cup Red Wine or Fortified Wine (such as Red Vermouth, Marsala, Madeira, or Dry Sherry, etc.)
How to Make Brown Beef Stock
Find the full printable recipe with measurements below.
- Preheat – Preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C).
- Preparing the Bones and Meat – Place the marrow bones and the beef shanks into a shallow roasting pan and smear each piece with tomato paste.
- Add the First Round of Aromatics – Add the carrots and onion to the roasting pan and place the pan into your preheated oven.
- Roasting the Bones and Meat – Roast everything until the bones and meat are a deep, rich brown and well caramelized. This process may take from 30 to 40 minutes. (Turn the bones once at the halfway cooking point.)
- Using a Stockpot – Once the bones and meat are well roasted, remove the pan to a heatproof surface and transfer the contents to a large stockpot.
- Stockpot Additions – Pour the fat and liquid from the pan into the stockpot.
- Deglaze the Pan – Use a red wine or dark-colored fortified wine to deglaze the pan and transfer all the bits to the stockpot.
- Add the Second Round of Aromatics – Add the celery and herbs to the stockpot.
- Add Just Enough Water – Add water to the stockpot just to cover the ingredients and bring the entire mixture up to a rolling boil.
- Adjust the Heat – Immediately turn the stovetop heat down to its lowest setting and skim off any foam that has risen to the top.
- Simmering Time – Allow the stock to simmer, uncovered, for four to five hours until slightly reduced and rich brown in color.
- Removing the Solids – When finished simmering, transfer the stockpot to a heatproof surface, remove all the solids from the stockpot, and strain the stock through a floursack towel or cheesecloth-lined colander into a clean bowl.
- Defatting – You can cool the stock in your refrigerator overnight. The fat will congeal at the top, and you can easily remove it. Alternatively, you can defat your stock without cooling it by straining it using a fat separator device.
Variations
If you don’t want to use wine or fortified wine when deglazing, you can use water instead. However, you need to add some type of acid to the water. You can use one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice or two tablespoons of orange juice as an acid.
Recipe Tips
Pro Tip
The most crucial tip when making a brown beef stock is to make sure the bones and meat are roasted to a VERY RICH BROWN COLOR and well caramelized.
Additional Tips
- Preheat a HOT Oven – Be sure that the oven is preheated to 450°F (232°C). The bones and meat MUST roast in a very hot oven to become well-browned.
- Tomato Paste is a Must – Do not leave out the tomato paste! It is crucial to creating well-caramelized bones and meat.
- Use Just Enough Water – When transferring all the ingredients to the stockpot, pour in only enough water to cover.
- Control the Stovetop Heat – Only bring the stock up to a boil at the very beginning of the process, then IMMEDIATELY turn the stovetop heat down to its lowest setting.
- Simmer Uncovered – Always allow the stock to simmer uncovered to allow for evaporation, which will ensure a concentrated, rich color and flavor.
- Watch My Recipe Video – Get detailed instructions with my how to make Brown Beef Stock video.
Storing and Reheating Brown Beef Stock
Storing
- Refrigeration – You can store brown stock in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to one week.
- Freezing – When stored in a freezer-proof container and frozen, your brown stock can stay fresh for up to three months.
Reheating
- Warming – Gently warm your brown stock in a saucepan on the stovetop.
How to Use Brown Beef Stock
Brown Beef Stock has multiple uses in your traditional foods kitchen. For example, you can use it as a base for making:
- Braised vegetables
- Gravies
- Sauces
- Soups, especially Traditional French Onion Soup
- Stews
How to Reuse Brown Stock Ingredients
- Bone Marrow and Bone Broth – Do not discard the bones used to make the brown stock. Instead, remove the marrow from the bones and use it as a spread on toasted baguettes. Bone marrow is a nutrient-dense food that’s worth consuming. (You can also make roasted bone marrow as a separate recipe if you prefer.) After removing the marrow, store the bones in the refrigerator, well-wrapped, for a few days. Alternatively, store them in the freezer for up to 2 months and add them to your next batch of bone broth.
- Soups and Casseroles – You can add the meat from the shanks used to make the brown stock to soups or casseroles.
- Thickener – And to further prevent waste, puree the vegetables used to make the stock to create a thickener for soups and stews.
Bone Broth Recipes
If you loved this Brown Beef Stock recipe, try these traditional bone broth recipes.
How to Make Simple Beef Stock from Scratch
This rich and flavorful beef stock is the perfect liquid base for homemade sauces and gravies.
How to Make Roast Turkey Bone Broth on the Stovetop
Use your leftover turkey carcass to make this flavorful and gelatinous-rich bone broth.
How to Make Collagen Rich Bone Broth for Under $2
Learn the secret ingredient to making the most gelatinous bone broth!
Looking for Beef Shanks and Marrow Bones?
If you can’t find beef marrow bones or beef shanks in your neighborhood supermarket or farmer’s market, check out US Wellness Meats for a variety of grass-fed beef, including a variety of bones, pastured chickens, and more.
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This post is not sponsored. I’m a long-time customer of US Wellness Meats because I have always been impressed by the quality of their products. Check out my US Wellness Meats unboxing video to see the types of products you can get, including bones for beef bone broth!
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Brown Beef Stock Recipe
Equipment
- 1 half-sheet pan or shallow roasting pan
- 1 tongs
- 1 Large stockpot
- 1 slotted spoon or spider strainer
- 1 Colander or mesh strainer
- 1 Flour sack towel or cheesecloth
- 1 Large bowl
- 3-4 1 and 2 cups storage containers
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Beef Shanks
- 3 lbs Beef Marrow Bones
- 1/4 cup Tomato Paste
- 1 large Onion unpeeled, cut in half with each half-quartered
- 2 Carrots unpeeled and rough chopped
- 2 Stalks of Celery rough chopped
- 1 Bunch of Herbs, tied with twine Thyme and Bay Leaves work well
- 1 cup Red Wine or Dark Colored Fortified Wine Fortified wines such as Red Vermouth, Marsala, Madeira, or Dry Sherry, etc.
- Water to cover the ingredients and deglaze pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C).
- Place the marrow bones and the beef shanks into a shallow roasting pan and smear each piece with tomato paste.
- Add the carrots and onion to the roasting pan and place the pan into the preheated oven.
- Roast everything until the bones and meat are a deep, rich brown and well caramelized. This process may take from 30 to 40 minutes. (Turn the bones once at the halfway cooking point.)
- Once the bones and meat are well roasted, remove the pan to a heatproof surface and transfer the contents to a large stockpot.
- Pour any fat and liquid from the pan into the stockpot.
- Use a red wine or dark-colored fortified wine to deglaze the pan and transfer all the bits to the stockpot.
- Add the celery and herbs to the stockpot.
- Add water to the stockpot just to cover the ingredients and bring the entire mixture up to a rolling boil.
- Immediately turn the stovetop heat down to its lowest setting and skim off any foam that has risen to the top.
- Allow the stock to simmer, uncovered, for four to five hours until slightly reduced and rich brown in color.
- When finished simmering, transfer the stockpot to a heatproof surface, remove all the solids from the stockpot, and strain the stock through a floursack towel or cheesecloth-lined colander into a clean bowl.
- Stock can be allowed to cool in the refrigerator overnight, and then the fat can be removed, or the stock can be defatted once strained using a fat separator.
- Store brown stock in airtight containers, refrigerated for up to one week, or in freezer-proof containers, frozen for up to three months.
Video
Notes
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Favorite Kitchen Supplies
- Favorite Aprons
- Half-Sheet Pan
- Large Stockpot
- Spider Strainer
- Glass Bowls
- Fat Separator
- Mesh Strainer
- Flour Sack Towels
- Storage Glasses with Lids
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I’m sure your recipe is wonderful…but. I use only grass-fed and finished beef, so the costs of the bones and beef are (for 3# each): Marrow bones – $32.13 and Beef shank $41.50= $73.63 to make the broth… can’t afford it!
“Grass-fed beef, as the name implies, comes from cows that eat mostly grass. Grain-fed cows eat a diet that includes soy, corn, and other additives. Grain-fed cows may also be given antibiotics and growth hormones to fatten them up quickly. Also, grass-fed beef has up to six times more heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids than regular grain-fed beef.”
https://www.webmd.com/diet/grass-fed-beef-good-for-you
Hi Carole,
Thanks so much for your note. I understand completely, but keep in mind that you are not just making brown beef stock. You also have the wonderful nutrient-dense bone marrow to enjoy, plus you can use the meat from the shanks as an addition to recipes such as soup, stews, and casseroles. And best of all, you can reuse all the bones to make beef bone broth! So, all things considered, you are getting a lot of delicious and nutritious food for your money.
Love and God Bless,
Mary
If u allow the fat to stay in broths, the fat plug that forms at top of the jars keeps the broth fresh for weeks in the fridge! Then u can take it off for use separately or leave in the broth when u heat it. I think it’s neat how God made an automatic seal for broth!
Hi Hélène,
Yes. He did! 🙂
Love and God Bless,
Mary