Roasted Stocks (Chicken, Lamb, Beef & Vegetable)

I only just realized that I've never said anything about making stock from roasted bones and vegetables. It wasn't until I put French Onion Soup on my dinner menu for later this week, using a stock I made from Easter's roasted lamb shoulder bones, that it occurred to me.

When you make a regular meat broth (chicken, turkey, lamb, beef) from uncooked bones, keeping it at a slow simmer the whole time, it will be gelatinous from drawing out the collagen in the bones. That's not a bad thing: it's protein, and good for you.

When you make a roasted bone broth, the collagen is already cooked, so the finished stock won't be gelatinous. What you will have is 'fond', the dark roasty bits at the bottom of the pan and on the carcass/bones, which makes the stock darker and adds a lot of concentrated flavor. Plus, since you've already paid for and eaten the meat, it's practically free, and you won't be paying premium prices for commercially roasted stock. Save all your leftover carcass/bones from your meals, & add them to a ziploc in the freezer until you have the equivalent of 2 chicken carcasses' worth of bones.

To make Roasted Vegetable Stock, follow the link to the basic recipe and begin by putting all the vegetables but not the herbs, salt or pepper in a large roasting pan and toss with just enough olive oil to coat. Leave the garlic cloves whole and in their skins so they don't burn. Roast at 425*F for about 45 minutes, turning about halfway through, until the veg are nice and browned. Transfer them to your stock pot. Use just enough hot water to deglaze the roasting pan, scraping up all the fond and pour into the pot. I usually do this twice to make sure I get it all. Continue with the stock recipe; you'll only need to simmer for 1.5 to 2 hrs.

To make Roasted Chicken Stock, follow the link to the basic recipe and begin by putting all the vegetables but not the herbs, salt or pepper in a large roasting pan and toss with just enough olive oil to coat. Leave the garlic cloves whole and in their skins so they don't burn. Add the picked over carcass/bones. [If you're using uncooked chicken wings/back/neck, do coat them with oil.]

Roast at 425*F for about 45 minutes, turning everything about halfway through, until the bones and veg are nice and browned. If you're using carcass or loose bones, they should be a dark, dark brown; that's what you want! Uncooked chicken, like wings, will take about 1 hr.

Transfer everything to your stock pot. Use just enough hot water to deglaze the roasting pan, scrape up all the fond with the edge of a spatula and pour into the pot. I usually do this twice to make sure I get it all. Continue with the stock recipe, but you'll only need to simmer for about 2 hrs.  See how dark the water is, even though I haven't even started the simmering process?

To make Roasted Lamb or Beef Stock, use onions, carrots, parsnips if you have them, whole garlic cloves in the skins, celery including the leafy tops, parsley & thyme. No dill. Follow the same procedure as for roasted chicken stock above.

>Note: I don't use rosemary in any of my stocks because rosemary oil is very intense, and even using just a stem or two, it's still prominent. Since I don't always want a rosemary flavor in a soup or stew, I find it's better to omit it and just add it in to the recipes as desired.