Beef Broth

Ingredients

2 shin bones with meat (2 ½ to 3 pounds total)
10 cups water
3 stalks celery
1 large yellow onion, sliced
⅓ cup parsley, coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 whole cloves
¼ tsp. whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
½ tsp. dried thyme (2 tsp. fresh)
1 cup tomato, unpeeled, unseeded chopped
3 tsp. salt

Method

Cut the meat from the bones into 1-inch pieces.

Heat an 8-quart soup pot and add the bones and meat. If the bones contain marrow, scrape it out and use it to brown the meat. Enough fat should cook out of the meat to make browning easy. If not, add a tablespoon of oil.

When the meat and bones are very well browned (the browner the meal, the darker the broth), add the water and bring it to a boil. Skim the broth if necessary. Add the remaining ingredients and lower the heat. Remove from the heat and strain. If you want a concentrated flavor, return the broth to stove and simmer, uncovered, until the broth is slightly reduced (about 30 minutes). Refrigerate.

Remove the fat from the surface before using the broth.