The Best Stock Ever

So you don't always need a ton of stuff in soup to make it super rich and flavorful, but the fewer things you include in a soup, the better your stock needs to be. If you make a lot of meat on bone, make sure to save the bones and leftover giblets or pieces of meat. After a big night of cooking, I usually have leftovers like this, and theres nothing nicer in the morning than throwing it all in a big pot (over coffee of course) and letting the smell fill the kitchen for the rest of the day.

I did this with the goat I made last Thursday. Saturday morning, I took all the bones and leftover meat (still on the bone) and threw it in a very large, stainless steel dutch oven filled 3/4 of the way up with water. I threw in an entire large white onion (sliced into two halves), a large bundle of rosemary and time (tie the sprigs whole and toss them in the pot), salt and pepper. I cooked this covered on medium-high heat for about 30 minutes and then turned it down to medium heat on the stove top to cook for a few hours. The broth turns a rich golden brown color, and when finished, you just throw out the bones, herbs, and onions. You can either freeze the broth in freezer bags (once cooled) or stick it in the fridge for immediate use. For the soup, my mom used the leftover duck from the birthday dinner the night before with caramelized onions, carrots, and mushrooms, throwing in a little wilted spinach right at the end. You could literally make all kinds of soup with this stock, and it would need very little seasoning due to the herb infusion.

Tonight I'll be making lamb stock with the two dollar lamb "leftovers" from Whole Foods. You can get the neck bones and leftover small pieces of meat from the Whole Foods butcher for two to three dollars a packet. This is great for seasoning stews, making gravy, or making stock! Since I don't plan on cooking that leg of lamb in my freezer in the next few days...this is a great way to provide an interesting stock for home-made soup tonight!