A Bone to Pick

Appears in
Meat Manifesto
Meat Manifesto

By Andy Fenner

Published 2017

  • About
Buying and using bones to make your own stocks or broths is an important part of great home cooking. These are like secret weapons at home and will add extra substance to sauces too. Stocks can be easily frozen, for use at a later stage – I always feel pretty smug when I have a few containers, neatly labelled, sitting in my freezer.

All stock recipes use the bones of animals, but the flavours produced are very different. Chicken stock, for instance, is mild, while lamb or venison can be more intense. One can also increase the intensity of beef stock by roasting the bones first. Also, if you want a clear, clean broth, bones can be soaked or washed beforehand, but I’d take flavour over appearance every time.