Beef is expensive these days, so I don't eat it often. But beef scraps can be relatively low-cost, and this is a great way to make something delicious and meaty from them.
This is a fairly basic recipe, but it's my Oli's favorite, so I had to write it up.
Figure 1: A piping hot bowl, on the slightly more anemic side. This was in the middle of a harsh winter so broth was the main thing that I wanted.
Ingredients
Beef leg bones, cut; approx 5 lbs
Beef neck bones, cut; approx. 5 lbs
White wine; 2 cups or vermouth; 1 cup
Flour; maybe 3 tbsp.
Barley; 1 lb
Celery; 6 ribs
Carrot; 4 large
Sweet Onion; 2
Kale; 1 bunch
Garlic; 2 heads
Thyme; 12 sprigs
Rosemary; 1 sprig
Bay leaves; 4
Salt and black pepper
Equipment
Baking sheet
Instant pot, or stock pot
Some vessel for storing the stock
Aluminum foil
Steps
The first step is to make the broth. Place the beef leg bones on a baking sheet and place in a cold oven. Turn the oven on to 400°F, and flip occasionally. You want browning, and you want some of the tallow to render out into the bottom of the pan. When you're satisfied with the browning, transfer the leg bones to the instant pot or stock pot. Place the neck bones on the baking sheet and toss to cover in the rendered tallow. Place back in the oven, and brown thoroughly. Transfer the neck bones to the pot. Pour boiling water over the baking sheet and scrape up all of the delicious brown bits, pouring into the pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the bones and make stock.
If you're using an instant pot, I tend to pressure cook for 1 hour on high pressure, then pull the bones out to shred off the usable meat, and then put them back in and pressure cook for an additional hour on low pressure. It's a little better if you let the steam naturally release rather than press down the release tab.
If you're using a stock pot, well, just simmer it for a couple hours. I'd imagine that 8 is plenty. Scape the meat off the bones two hours in, through, because it completely loses the flavor if you simmer it as long as the bones.
Transfer the stock to a separate container and chill overnight.
The next day, skim the fat off the top and transfer about 4 tbsp. to the (now hopefully clean) pot.
Dice the celery, carrot, and sweet onion, turn the heat on the pot, and saute.
Add the flour and cook until the "raw flour smell" dissipates. Deglaze with the wine or vermouth, followed by the broth, then the barley, and then the herbs. Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature to a bare simmer.
While the soup simmers, cut both heads of garlic crosswise, rub the exposed parts of the cloves with some beef fat, wrap in aluminum foil, and roast at 350°F for 30 minutes.
When the barley is tender, chop the kale and add to the soup, along with the reserved meat scraps. Remove the roast garlic from its skin (squeezing works fairly well) and add to the soup. Cook for 10 more minutes.
