I'll abondon the normal recipe format for a bit to talk theory. I'll do a Q&A type thing.
What is a soupbone? A soupbone is usually a section of beef bone with a lot of connective tissue that gives off a lot of fat and albumin when roasted and then boiled. Knuckles, shoulder joints, and the like fit just fine. Any good butcher counter can either sell you these or point you towards the freezer section where they keep them. I don't care for frozen meat of nearly any stripe, but you can overcome my prejudices and it'll be um... fine.
Hold on, what's albumin? Albumin is water soluble protein that coagulates with heat. You cook a burger and there's that light fat that gels up when it touches the pan? That's albumin. it's the same thing that makes eggs solidify when you cook them. Albumin helps soups have body and consistency.
So what do i do with a soupbone? At it's most basic, you roast or saute it with seasoning and mire poix to bring out it's flavor and then boil it to make a simple stock.
Mire poix? A fancy chef's term for carrots, celery, and onions, sometimes leeks too, that are the basis of much fine cooking. I was taught that you use the tops and tails of these vegetables with minimal washing, just enough to get the soil off. I do this for two reasons, One is because you're going to throw this stuff out anyway and then add veggies later that won't be mooshy, the other is that more flavor comes out of these parts of the veggies.
So here's a simple soup recipe using this information.
Simple Vegetable Beef Soup
ingredients
large soupbone
carrots
onion
celery
bay leaf
thyme
tomato
a large potato
mushrooms
garlic
salt and pepper
butter
utensils
large soup pot
sharp knife and cutting board
big wooden spoon
colander or strainer
hammer and/or chisel (optional)
garlic press
Mise en place
Top and tail the mire poix veggies and then cut the remaining good parts into rough one inch chunks, a peasant cut.
Quarter the mushrooms.
Peel the potato (or don't, I don't) and also give it a peasant cut.
Thaw the soupbone if it's frozen.
Mince the garlic.
We'll do this as a stovetop saute recipe and i'll tell you how to oven roast the bone in a later post.
Put a little butter in the pot and then the soupbone and the mirepoix. How much mire poix? about a double handful maybe a little more. Also add a few crushed cloves of garlic. Season a little with salt and cracked black pepper.
Saute on medium heat for about fifteen minutes or until the edges of the veggies and bone start to brown, don't let it burn. Watch and stir constantly reducing heat and removing from heat as needed.
Turn down to low and saute for another half hour to hour more, until the veggies are very soft and well browned.
At this point you can remove the whole thing from heat, allow to cool for fifteen minutes and then smash the bone open with the hammer and/or chisel. Then return it to heat for another half hour or so.
At this point turn up the heat to high and start adding water by half cups keeping it hot, but not allowing it to come to a full boil. You're going to want to just about fill the pot to full. Bring to a very near boil and then reduce heat so it doesn't boil. you can remove it from heat if it looks like it'll boil. Add the bay leaf and a big pinch of thyme.
Simmer like this for about two hours then strain into a large container.
Return to a boil and if you like (I rarely bother) you can skim the solids off the top with a strainer so you'll leave the oils.
Now add the veggies in this order, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, onion, celery, mushrooms.
Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Notes
This is an unthickened soup. the only real starch content is the potatoes. So really a true soup not a stew of some sort.
Feel free to add other vegetables, seasonings and even sauteed round steak or something like leftover roast beef. This is a very basic recipe and can be expounded upon quite a lot.
You'll notice i gave no amounts when it came to the veggies. This is up to you. Whether you want a simple broth with a few veggies for accent to start a meal with, or a hearty main course soup packed with stuff is really up to you. I did give the amount for the potato so that the soup won't be too starchy. To keep the broth really clear use several large waxy spuds instead of one large floury spud.
Also, you'll see that plenty of liquid will evaporate during the simmering. If you want a more brothy soup, add a little more water here and there, the more you cook this down the stronger the flavor will be, and the more liquid you add the weaker.
You can overcome the blandness of a weaker thinnewr brothe by cooking the soupbone and mire poix darker. Increase the cooking time before you add liquid, and maybe toss in some more garlic.
Parsnip tops and tails add a semi-sharp flavor to the broth.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}