Beef marrow bones and "meat" stock

My father wants us (he and me) to try to make my Aunt Stella's Polish borscht recipe over Thanksgiving.

Hers was not a traditional beet borscht, but more like a rich mushroom soup, starting with an excellent broth and ending with the addition of dried wild mushrooms.

Anyway, my mother scribbled down the "recipe" while Stella was dictating at the stove one day. It says to use 1 pkg of beef marrow bones, 1 pkg of chicken wings, and 1 package of lamb bones. Boil in 6 quarts of water with some vegs, etc. Let the broth cool and sit overnight, and skim off the fat the next day.

Okay, so I bought 2 pkgs of beef marrow bones, and some of them have a ton of fat attached.

Questions:

1) Should I cut off the large chunks of fat before using the bones?

2) It doesn't say so, but shouldn't I roast the bones before boiling them? I can't remember if Stella did that. I kind of think she DIDN'T.

Damn, I wish I could ask her! Or my mother!

Maybe one of them will come in a dream to me and tell me the answer.

What do you think?

I'll attach a photo of the fattiest package of marrow bones. BTW, Stella let my brother and me have some of the marrow after the bones were boiled - ambrosia! We had pretty well-developed pallettes at an early age!

Any advice?

Lee

in my limited experience, roasting the bones does more for the flavor of the stuff 'stuck to the bone' than the marrow inside.

as for fat and stock....I leave all the fat on, I skim the stock as it develops - fat / foam / coag'd chunks, etc.

frankly, can't tell you if that's "better than X" - because I've only ever done it my way....

For the best flavor, leave all the trimmings attached. Roast the bones to develop the rich flavor from the Millard reaction when they brown. Make sure to use a little liquid to deglaze any browning that is in the bottom of the roasting pan.

The flavor may not be exactly the same if she didn't roast them, but it should be even better than you remember. Don't actually boil the bones, simmer them gently. Boiling clouds the stock by emulsifying the fat and scum into it and makes it more difficult to skim.

As the Chowder Man says, skim as it cooks.


K.

Just made chicken soup the other day using all the pieces-parts I accumulate from trimming & de-boning chickens. I keep it all the freezer until soup time.

I put all the meat, fat & veggies on a sheet pan, season with salt & fresh cracked pepper, and bake it all at 375F until it's nicely browned, then flip it all over and finish baking till side two is nicely browned. Then it's "everyone into the hot tub" until the meat and cartilage falls off the bones. I think baking it all off gives a deeper flavor to the stock, and deglazing the sheetpan is a must to capture the flavor of the bits & pieces left behind. I cool the stock overnight then skim the fat the following day.

When I do them for Vietnamese Pho soup, I remove most of the fat, but leave the gristle and tendons. Otherwise you just end up with a huge amount of fat to strain off.
If clear broth is important, boil them for two minutes, then dump the water and start with new. It gets rid of most of the proteins and impurities that form the scum, without losing flavor. Supposedly a four hour low boil/simmer will extract all the flavor and goodness. Add water as needed to keep at the level you want.
You'll know you done right when it jellos up when chilled.

1.) i would not. i would render them, & skim thereafter.
2.)yep. i would so roast them- that submits an entirely new depth of flavor/texture.

The only times that I use beef bones is to make beef stock for soup.

And yes, I leave all the fat on the bones - to season the stock.

After it is done, I then turn it off, wait for all of the stock to settle and voila!!! The fat can be skimmed off the top Even better, chill the stock and wait for the fat to congeal (solidify) on top of the stock for easy removal of the fat!!

Moxie said:

For the best flavor, leave all the trimmings attached. Roast the bones to develop the rich flavor from the Millard reaction when they brown. Make sure to use a little liquid to deglaze any browning that is in the bottom of the roasting pan.

The flavor may not be exactly the same if she didn't roast them, but it should be even better than you remember. Don't actually boil the bones, simmer them gently. Boiling Louisa the stock by stultifying the fat and scrum into it and makes it more difficult to skim. As. The Chowder Man says, skim as it cooks.

Click to expand...

WOW! Auto-correct on the iPad is awful, isn't it?

That last sentence should say...
Boiling clouds the stock by emulsifying the fat and scum into it and makes it more difficult to skim.

I don't know how clouds became Louisa and emulsifying became stultifying, but that's modern technology!

Moxie said:

WOW! Auto-correct on the iPad is awful, isn't it?

That last sentence should say...
Boiling clouds the stock by emulsifying the fat and scum into it and makes it more difficult to skim.

I don't know how clouds became Louisa and emulsifying became stultifying, but that's modern technology!

Click to expand...

LOLOL!

Thanks for correcting the auto-correct, Moxie!

When I read it, I was saying, "What the ....??"

I will edit your original, otherwise excellent, post!

Lee