beef neck bones and stock

[thecuriousone]

I've recently discovered the power of beef neck bones. For very little money, I get tons of flavor with depth. I am creating some of the most complex and well balanced broths of my life.

I have checked many stock recipes and dont see neck bones as a component anywhere. Why is that? I see plenty of recipes that include mixtures of chicken backs, necks, beef bones etc. but no neckbones? Is there something that precludes the use of neckbones as a flavoring agent in stock?

[Sunny Simmons Steincamp]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I'm with you on the value of beef neck bones. Maybe it's because you don't find these sitting prettily in your grocer's meat cases, today? We buy sides of organic, grass-fed Angus beef about every six months, and of course, along with that we get tons of neck (and other) soup bones. The only thing I do is roast them in the oven with some salt & pepper to bring out some flavor, then drop them in water to simmer into stock. And the only thing better than the neck bones, to me, are the oxtails. Yum.

Got some on the stove right now with a bean mix for a hoppin-jon-esque dinner soup right now, as a matter of fact...

[deltadoc]

I made beef stock with beef neck bones for years. They generally cost about $.49/lb. However, I stopped using them entirely because the neck is actually part of the spinal column, and Mad Cow Disease lurks in the nervous system.

Whether its true or not, the American Beef Council informed me that only cows 2 years or older can catch MCD, so I started using Veal neck bones. They were about $1.99/lb, but my source dried up.

Upon recommendation from VenisonAmerica, I tried using their New Zealand Veal shanks. They did indeed turn out a very tasty veal stock, so that is all I use now.

Wayne Gisslen stated that stock used to be made with a mixture of bones and meat (roasted for brown stock), but due to the expense, most stocks now are made strictly from bones, and broth strictly from meat.

However, I think that if I could get veal neck bones again, I would make stock from them without any worries. IN the meattime, the veal shanks are working out reallywell.

doc

[Pam R]

We carry beef neck bones and sell them for stock making. People are doing it - even if they're not writing about it.

[RyuShihan]

I use a mixture of neck and veal bones at the hotel I work at.

I learned if I use just neck i get alot of calogen but a lighter color demi when i reduce it. Versus just using veal bones which give me a more rich darker color.

So I use 50# of each, and i get a very flavorful rich stock that is between both and has more geletan.

[thecuriousone]

I use a mixture of neck and veal bones at the hotel I work at.

I learned if I use just neck i get alot of calogen but a lighter color demi when i reduce it.  Versus just using veal bones which give me a more rich darker color.

So I use 50# of each, and i get a very flavorful rich stock that is between both and has more geletan.

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Thanks for letting me know this. Are you concerned with the mad cow issue? You are using a total of 100 lbs. of bones. How much stock does that produce? Could you post what else you put in it and how long you cook it? I'm sure I dont need that much but I would like to see the recipe so I could cut it in half or quarters.

Has anyone seen a discussion elsewhere on this board about the mad-cow or Creutzfeld issue? I hadnt given it a lot of thought until it was mentioned above. Maybe I shouldnt be using beef neck bones at all. Thoughts?

[deltadoc]

Are you concerned with the mad cow issue?    Could you post what else you put in it and how long you cook it?  Maybe I shouldnt be using beef neck bones at all.  Thoughts?

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By definition, a "veal" is a very young beef, so it is always less than 2 years of age. So, like I said, if i am to believe the American Beef council, veal calves cannot get MCD. Seems safer to me, but besides, after using beef stock and now veal stock, the veal stock is so much more beautiful and tasty!

There are different methods of making brown stock. Professional Cooking and Professional Chef have methods that are similar yet different.

I generally roast my bones and/or bones with meat on them, until they're nice and brown (not burnt). I sometimes, if i remember to, brush them with a bit of tomato paste. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, also roast the mirepoix with the bones, adding it in after some time into the roasting process.

Otherwise, I remove the bones, and put them into a stock pot (I use 24 lbs of bones at a time, and two 24 Qt. stock pots). I then pour off the grease from the roasting pan, and deglaze the roasting pan, and add that to the stock pots.

I then add back in the grease into the roasting pan and usually that is when I create my mirepoix by browning the veggies in the grease in the oven for a more controlled process. I then add the roasted browned mirepoix to the stock pot. Then I add cold filtered water to the stock pots to cover the bones sufficiently. I always add a Bouquet Garni and/or a Sachet d'spice (cheesecloth containing a bay leaf, some whole black peppercorns, a few whole cloves, a whole clove garlic, some fresh parsley stems) tied with a long string that allows me to retrieve it easily.

I then place them on my lowest gas burners and let them gently come to a point where just a few bubbles break the surface. It takes some adjustment, but it is easily done.

Then I let them go like that sometimes overnight. When I get up in the night (or whenever I am doing the stock making) I add additional water to maintain the bones under water. Do this gently so as not to disturb the stock. NEVER MIX the stock up. Never add salt to the stock or espagnole or demi. Always S&P at the time of using them in your recipes.

Continually skim the scum off the top. I use a special spoon/sieve, of which I have two, to do this. They work really well. Others use scum/grease mops on a stick. I don't like them as well. If it is winter or you have a huge refrigerator, you can cool the stock quickly in an ice bath in the sink and leave it in the fridge overnight, and skim the entire fat/scum content off as a solid in the morning.

Finally, I remove the bones, pour the stock through a larger holed-sieve first, and then again through a fine sieve china hat. I don't like using cheesecloth to filter as it usually clogs up on me right away and is bothersome!

I now taste the stock, sometimes I reduce it a bit more after straining. Usually I use immediately what I need to, sometimes making some Espagnole Sauce to which I then add more fresh stock, another Sachet d'spice, and reduce down 55%. Then I have a nice Demi-glace ala Escoffier. I add the Sherry or Dryzack at the time I use the demi. (Escoffier says: Reduce the 1 Qt of stock and 1 Qt of Espagnole sauce to .9 Qts, and add .1 Qt Sherry: Different editions of Escoffier's Cookbook specify different wines).

Demi freezes very well. I can the remaining stock. Sometimes I run out of canning jars and then I reduce the remaining stock 90% and make a Glace de veau viande. This freezes well, or can sit covered in your refrigerator for some time. I tend to freeze it because I had read that you can leave it in the fridge indefinitely, but mine finally grew mold in it!!

doc

[Pam R]

Has anyone seen a discussion elsewhere on this board about the mad-cow or Creutzfeld issue?  I hadnt given it a lot of thought until it was mentioned above.  Maybe I shouldnt be using beef neck bones at all.  Thoughts?

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Here are but a few of the past threads on Mad Cow...

Mad cow and Canadians

More mad cow in Canada

Mad cow threat

USDA mad cow testing incomplete?

Another mad cow in the US

Japan bans US beef

3rd Case of US mad cow disease