Gordon Ramsay’s beef stock is a deep brown stock of roasted beef or veal marrowbones, browned vegetables, fennel, tomato paste and mushrooms, simmered slowly with herbs. It makes about 6 cups and takes about 8 hours, though almost all of that is the oven and the pot working on their own.
It’s the same recipe in the basics chapter of Great British Pub Food (2009), where it’s called beef or veal stock, and in the US edition of Cooking for Friends, which gives it in pounds and cups. Either bone works, and the method doesn’t change.
His stock rules in Passion for Flavour (1996) say the skill “lies in patience”, and they explain why the bones go into a very hot oven first, because roasting gives the stock its flavor and color. Drain off the fat in the roasting pan before the bones go into the pot, and skim the froth as it rises. What you’re after is a clear, mahogany stock that tastes of roast beef, with a layer of fat to lift off once it’s chilled.
Gordon Ramsay’s Beef Stock
Course: BasicsCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy6
15
minutes7
45
minutes90
His brown stock from the Pub Food and Cooking for Friends basics chapters, for gravies, braises and rich soups. Yield: about 1.5 liters.
Ingredients
- For the stock:
3½ pounds (1.5 kg) beef or veal marrowbones, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 large fennel bulb, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
8 to 10 cups (2 to 2.5 liters) cold water
4 ounces (100 g) button mushrooms
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Directions
- Roast: Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Spread the bones in a large roasting pan, toss them with a little olive oil, and roast for about 1 hour, turning them halfway, until evenly browned.
- Brown: Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a large stockpot, add the onions, carrots, celery and fennel, and cook over high heat, stirring now and then, until golden brown.
- Tomato: Stir in the tomato paste and fry for 2 minutes more.
- Cover: Lift the browned bones into the pot and pour in enough cold water to cover them, about 8 to 10 cups. Bring to a simmer, skimming off the froth and scum as they rise.
- Simmer: Add the mushrooms, bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns, and keep the stock at a gentle simmer for 6 to 8 hours, until you’re satisfied with the flavor.
- Strain: Let it stand for a few minutes, then strain it through a fine sieve into a bowl.
- Store: Let it cool, then chill it, or freeze it in smaller portions.
Notes
- The book's storage times: 5 days in the fridge, or 3 months frozen.
- Split a big batch into shallow containers so it cools fast, and get it into the fridge within 2 hours.
- Freeze some in 2-cup and ½-cup blocks, which Passion for Flavour calls your own "stock-cubes".
- Use the biggest pot you own, since 3½ pounds of bones and 10 cups of water need plenty of room.
FAQs
Which bones should I buy?
Marrowbones, cut into 2-inch pieces, which is exactly what the recipe asks for. Most butchers sell them as marrow or soup bones and will saw them for you, and the smaller pieces brown faster in the oven.
If your butcher has knuckle or neck bones, I’d mix a few in, which is my own habit, because they give the stock more body. Veal bones work in the same amounts if you can order them, and they make a slightly paler, softer stock.
Why are there mushrooms and fennel in it?
They’re part of the recipe in both books, and they make it taste rounder than plain bones and onions. The mushrooms bring extra savory depth, while the fennel adds a faint, sweet aniseed note that fades as it simmers.
Button mushrooms are all you need, so there’s no reason to buy anything fancy. And if fennel is hard to find, an extra celery stalk does the same job, which is my own swap.
Should I add salt to the stock?
No, and his Passion for Flavour rules are firm on this. They say “Do not season stocks with salt”, because there’s enough natural salt in the vegetables and it concentrates as the stock reduces.
So season the gravy, sauce or soup you make with it instead. That way a stock you reduce by half for a sauce never ends up too salty to use.
What does he use beef stock for?
His Great British Pub Food hodge podge, our beef barley soup made with his stock, asks for 2 cups of this exact stock, from the same book. It goes in with beef shin, root vegetables and light beer.
His chipotle meatball soup from Ultimate Cookery Course takes 4¼ cups of beef or chicken stock. I’d use this beef one there, since it stands up to the chipotle and tomato.
Can I make it in less time?
Not on the stovetop, since the book gives 6 to 8 hours and leaves the last call to your taste. A slow cooker on low overnight works, though, which is my own shortcut, as long as you still roast the bones first.
A pressure cooker cuts it to about 2 hours at high pressure, again my own method rather than his. It won’t be quite as clear, so strain it through a sieve lined with a damp cloth, the way his stock rules suggest.
Zaytouna Studio Team is the kitchen team behind Chef Ramsay Recipes. We cook Gordon Ramsay’s recipes from his cookbooks and videos in a home kitchen and write them up for yours, with US and metric measurements.