A good soup starts with good stock, broth or a soup bone.
Soup bones add flavor to your soup or broth. The best soup bones have a little meat attached, but clean bones will still add flavor. Use a raw bone, straight from the butcher, or a bone left over from roasted meat or baked ham. For best flavor, a long slow cooking process is needed, but some of the bone's cooking time can be accomplished while the other soup ingredients are cooking.
Instructions
1. Trim all visible fat off your soup bone. You can use the bone as it is or roast it for additional flavor and color. Beef and chicken bones are particularly good roasted. Bones from smoked or cooked meat do not need roasting. If you choose to roast the bone, place it in a roasting pan at 450 degrees and roast uncovered for 30 minutes or until browned, turning once.
2. Remove the bones from the oven and drain off any accumulated fat. Place them in a soup pot.
3. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of water to the roasting pan and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add this liquid to the soup pot.
4. Cover the bones with cold water and place over medium-high heat. Bring the pot to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to a simmer.
5. Simmer the bones slowly for a minimum 30 minutes to an hour to extract the flavor. Large bones benefit from longer cooking times.
6. Remove the bone from the pot and let it cool enough to comfortably handle it. Meanwhile, skim off any scum or fat floating on the broth.
7. Remove all of the meat from the bone and chop it. Return the meat to the pot. Discard small bones, but return large bones to the pot to continue flavoring the soup.
For a clear soup, strain the broth through 2 layers of cheesecloth before using it to make the soup.
8. Add the remaining soup ingredients and continue to simmer. Keep an eye on the liquid level and add more water if needed to keep the bone and soup ingredients covered.
Tags: soup ingredients, soup bone, your soup