Beef stock for making brown gravies?

Has beef stock been made illegal or something? I used to find them several years ago but now no one carries them. It’s only chicken, pork, or seafood. I looked in every Western specific markets I know of (Wellmen’s, Jason’s, etc.) and none of them have it.

This question has also been nagging at me for several months, since I’ve been making meat pies. What the H do people use to make beef noodle soup?

Where is the beef stock?

My understanding for beef noodle soup they just cook beef until it’s beef soup…

powdered beef stock has NOT been available in Taiwan for years… due to mad cows disease…

I gave up finding beef stock about 5 years ago. You’re either going to have to bring some from overseas, or get some bones and make your own.

This question has also been nagging at me for several months, since I’ve been making meat pies. What the H do people use to make beef noodle soup?

Where is the beef stock?[/quote]

I am guarding my last few OXO cubes with my Life. I wonder what is used by “Italian” restaurants here for stock?

About 1.5 years ago I found this kind of beef bouillon at Cross Country baking store in Taoyuan City. Not sure if they still carry it.

Here’s another thread about beef broth: http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=117572#p1497281

You can bring bouillon cubes in when you visit home, and freeze them for a year or three, but the quality of bouillon powder and cubes generally sucks, with lots of salt and MSG. I believe I’ve also seen veal jus powder in tubs at P&P but have not used it.

Homemade stock is a bit of a commitment, but it’s the only way to go IMO. This is roughly how I made my last batch:

Beef Stock (adapted from a Masterchef Australia 2011 Masterclass recipe by Justin North)

3kg beef bones with some meat on them, chopped
50ml vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
½ garlic bulb

Mirepoix: an onion, quartered; a carrot and two celery sticks, large chop; half a leek, same.
50g tomato paste
75ml red wine
A fist-sized hunk of fatty beef
3-4 liters of water

Aromats: a bay leaf, a few peppercorns, sprigs of thyme, fresh oregano, optionally a bit of fresh rosemary

  1. Pre-heat oven to 200⁰C.

  2. Place roasting pan over a gas stovetop, add oil and heat for 1 minute. Add meat and meaty bones and brown for 10 minutes, turning occasionally to prevent burning. Roast in oven for 10 minutes, turn bones and roast another 10 minutes.

  3. Transfer browned bones to a colander to drain. Keep a little fat in the pan to caramelize vegetables. Reserve the bones.

  4. Add onions and carrots to pan and cook on the stovetop for 10 minutes. Add leeks and cook until vegetables are caramelized and a deep golden brown.

  5. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 5-10 minutes. Deglaze with red wine.

  6. Place half the reserved bones in a stockpot and place the beef hunk on top, followed by all the roasted vegetables, aromats and top with remaining bones.

  7. Pour over enough water to cover the bones and bring to boil slowly, reduce heat to barely a simmer.

  8. Using a ladle, skim away impurities as they rise to the surface. Simmer gently for 7-8 hours, skimming from time to time.

  9. Leave to cool (I use a water bath and fan), strain through a fine sieve and refrigerate overnight.

  10. Fat will solidify on the surface of the stock overnight, this is easily removed. Taste and adjust seasonings. Keep any good beef bits and the stock, discarding the rest.

  11. Freeze unused portions for future use.

[quote=“Dragonbones”]You can bring bouillon cubes in when you visit home, and freeze them for a year or three, but the quality of bouillon powder and cubes generally sucks, with lots of salt and MSG. I believe I’ve also seen veal jus powder in tubs at P&P but have not used it.

Homemade stock is a bit of a commitment, but it’s the only way to go IMO. This is roughly how I made my last batch:

Beef Stock (adapted from a Masterchef Australia 2011 Masterclass recipe by Justin North)

3kg beef bones with some meat on them, chopped
50ml vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
½ garlic bulb

Mirepoix: an onion, quartered; a carrot and two celery sticks, large chop; half a leek, same.
50g tomato paste
75ml red wine
A fist-sized hunk of fatty beef
3-4 liters of water

Aromats: a bay leaf, a few peppercorns, sprigs of thyme, fresh oregano, optionally a bit of fresh rosemary

  1. Pre-heat oven to 200⁰C.

  2. Place roasting pan over a gas stovetop, add oil and heat for 1 minute. Add meat and meaty bones ankd brown for 10 minutes, turning occasionally to prevent burning. Roast in oven for 10 minutes, turn bones and roast another 10 minutes.

  3. Transfer browned bones to a colander to drain. Keep a little fat in the pan to caramelize vegetables. Reserve the bones.

  4. Add onions and carrots to pan and cook on the stovetop for 10 minutes. Add leeks and cook until vegetables are caramelized and a deep golden brown.

  5. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 5-10 minutes. Deglaze with red wine.

  6. Place half the reserved bones in a stockpot and place the beef hunk on top, followed by all the roasted vegetables, aromats and top with remaining bones.

  7. Pour over enough water to cover the bones and bring to boil slowly, reduce heat to barely a simmer.

  8. Using a ladle, skim away impurities as they rise to the surface. Simmer gently for 7-8 hours, skimming from time to time.

  9. Leave to cool (I use a water bath and fan), strain through a fine sieve and refrigerate overnight.

  10. Fat will solidify on the surface of the stock overnight, this is easily removed. Taste and adjust seasonings. Keep any good beef bits and the stock, discarding the rest.

  11. Freeze unused portions for future use.[/quote]

Why not simply purchase some from your local beef noodle joint?

Beef noddle soup is spiced in not quite the right way… It’s got a lot of soy sauce and Chinese specific spice (Star Anise, cinnamon, etc.) that would make your brown gravy or pie taste like beef noddle soup…

  1. What TL said. Same goes for chicken and other stocks. If I’m making risotto or paella, I don’t want star anise flavor in it, I want classic European flavors. Brown gravy shouldn’t taste like soy sauce.
  2. Making my own means I know what goes into it. I control the quality, the healthiness, and the flavors.
  3. I get the option of using grain-fed, free-range, hormone-free (etc.) beef, chicken, etc…
  4. I enjoy cooking. There is a sense of accomplishment, a sense of mastery, independence, creativity, and even something therapeutic about nurturing a starter, stirring and skimming a long-simmering stock, or kneading dough. And I, not A-zhu or A-po or A-ho, am feeding my family. I like that.

where can I get suitable beef for making broth? Actually where can I get cow femur? I can think of more uses for the bone after it’s done cooking…

I brought back Bisto gravy granules and Bovril cubes from the UK. But they’re mine, all MINE.

A good dollop of vegemite or marmite is a good substitute. That’s what we used in the war.

Vegimite? Shiver! I got a jar of beef cubes at number four park DIY store found elsewhere hereupon. But come on, vegimite? Aussies will eat this stuff and substitute it for mom’s milk. Try it and love to hate it.