[Basic] Brown Veal Stock (Fond de Veau Brun)

I couldn't agree more with chef David Waltuck. I was fascinated by French cuisine after making stocks and sauces. It is almost magical that simple basic ingredients such as bones, carrots and onions are transformed into the luscious aromatic French sauces.

In my opinion, store-bought stock works okay to moisten foods in braising or to make soup, but not to make sauces. Since the stock has to be reduced and the flavors intensified, if you use not-so-good stock, you will end up with a low-quality sauce.

Veal bones, which has milder flavor than beef bones, can make a more neutral and versatile stock. To extract mild, yet deeper meatiness from veal bones, we make brown veal stock by browning the veal bones and vegetables (in most cases). Among many stocks, brown veal stock is probably the most widely used one to make many types of rich and flavorful French sauces. Sauce Espagnole (brown sauce, one of the five mother sauces) is an example of the sauce made with brown veal stock.

I will post a sauce recipe based on brown veal stock soon. Please stay tuned.
First things first, and today... here is how you make brown veal stock.

[Basic] Brown Veal Stock (Fond de Veau Brun)
(Yield: 1.5 pint / Cooking time: 10-12 hours)

Ingredients:
Please prepare the freshest ingredients you can find. Again, the quality of the sauce mainly depends upon the quality of the stock.

+ 100g roughly chopped onion + 100g roughly chopped carrot + a handful of roughly chopped leek greens* + 35g tomato paste + 35g roughly chopped tomatoes + 2 quarts of cold water + vegetable oil

[Herbs and spices]** + 1-2 cloves of garlic + a small bunch of fresh thyme + 10-15 black pepper corns*** + a few parsley stems + one bay leaf

+ 1kg (~2.2lb) veal bones (possibly knuckle bones)
(Rinse the bones in cold water and pat dry each bone with paper towel. Knuckle bones have lots of gelatin which will give body to the final sauces.)


* It is very important to clean the leek thoroughly in running water to remove any dirt between the leek layers.

** Make a small bundle(sachet) of thyme, parsley stems, garlic, bay leaf, and peppercorns together with cheese clothes. This is so that the spices and herbs will not be removed while skimming off the stock.

*** Many recipes do not use peppercorns in making stocks. However, I found 10 black peppercorns do not really overpower the neutral flavor of the stock, but actually help create a more balanced flavor. Also, since I always add black pepper in the final product that I made with veal stock, I don't see the point of not adding black peppercorns.


Procedures:
1. Place a roasting pan (or an oven proof wide pan) on the oven rack at the center, and preheat the oven at 450°F (204°C).


2. When the oven is preheated, take out the pan from the oven and drizzle vegetable oil. Add cleaned veal bones and make sure all the bones are coated well with vegetable oil. Roast the bones in the oven until they become golden brown, stirring occasionally to brown the bones evenly. (For about 30-35 minutes).


3. When the bones are browned well, add chopped carrots and onions and toss well to coat the vegetables with oil. Roast another 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.


4. Add leek greens and roast for 10-15 minutes just until the leek greens are browned.


5. Take out the browned veal bones and vegetables, and transfer to a stock pot. Please make sure there are no "burned" pieces.

6. Wipe the roasting pan with paper towel just to remove any excess fat/oil, and add tomato paste. Over medium-low heat brown the tomato paste briefly. Please be careful not to burn the tomato paste or any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour about a pint of water and scrap the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release the suc.*


* Please do not use the roasting pan and replace it, if suc is burned or too dark. (suc: caramelized proteins that form on the bottom of a pan as ingredients are browned.)


7. Pour the water from roasting pan into the stock pot where browned veal bones and vegetables are. Add herbs/spices sachet and tomatoes to the stock pot. Pour the rest of cold water into the pot. Water should cover the bones and vegetables. Bring to a gentle boil, and lower the heat. Simmer the stock, skimming often, for 8 to 10 hours*. If water evaporates and you can see bones and vegetables over the water, add more water to keep the bones and vegetables covered.


* Probably this is the most important step in stock making. If you boil the stock or if you are lazy in skimming off the fat and floating impurity from the stock, you are going to end up with cloudy, off-flavored (not clean flavor) stock. Please skim off the stock every 20-30 minutes for the first few hours, and probably less often until the process is complete.

8. After 8-10 hours' simmer, strain the stock carefully through a fine strainer. You can reduce the stock a little bit to make an even more flavorful stock.


9. Cool off the stock immediately (over ice bath), and store in air tight container. You can freeze the stock and store for a few months. I froze the stock in ice cube mold. Then you can store the frozen stock cubes in an airtight bag. This way, you can easily thaw the amount of stock you need.