Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/182

 CHAPTER VIII.

Any kind of bones, cooked or uncooked, may be used to make bone stock. Put them in a small stew-pan or small stock-pot, add enough water to well cover, and bring to the boil. Skim, add a peeled onion, a carrot and a bay-leaf, and simmer for 2 or 3 hours. Season to taste with salt. This stock may be used in place of water for making gravy, soups, and sauces.

Ingredients.—2 lb. of shin or neck of beef, 1 lb. of knuckle of veal, 3 or 4 lb. of bones (beef and veal), the necks, cleaned feet, the gizzards and livers of a chicken or a fowl, 2 carrots, 2 onions, 1 turnip, a strip of celery, a bouquet-garni (parsley, thyme bay-leaf), 12 peppercorns, 4 cloves, 1 tablespoonful of salt, 8 quarts of water.

Method.—Cut up the meat, and break the bones into small pieces; cover with cold water, put in the salt and let it stand for an hour, then bring gently to boiling point. Remove the scum as it rises, and when quite clear put in the herbs and vegetables, which should previously have been prepared, and cut into large pieces, or if small, left whole; if they are cut small and break up, they are apt to make the stock cloudy. Let the stock boil up after putting in the vegetables and skim well, then put on the lid, draw to the side of the stove and simmer VERY GENTLY for 5 or 6 hours. Any fat which rises to the surface during the process of simmering should be carefully skimmed off with a spoon. When sufficiently cooked, strain the stock through a hair sieve into a basin, and when cold take off the fat, which can be clarified and used for frying. The meat and bones should be covered with water and boiled down for "second" or "ordinary" stock.

Stock made according to this recipe could, after being cleared, be used 138