Welcome to TheOhioOutdoors
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Login or sign up today!
Login / Join

Soup's On

Jamie

Senior Member
5,684
166
Ohio
if this isn't hot soup weather, I don't know what is. I love soup. from black bean soup to won-ton and everything in between.

yesterday I went to the butcher shop and bought 5 lbs of "bowwow bones". says right on the price label "not for human consumption". the young lady running the cash register commented that my dogs would be very happy when I got home. A sly grin crept onto my mug as I looked her right in the eye and said "these bones have a much higher calling, I'm making stock for my vegetable beef soup." She smiled back and said something to the effect of nobody hardly knows that anymore, to which I replied something like it's disappointing how much of things like this are forgotten or lost altogether on younger people. $10 for 5 lbs of butchers waste is highway robbery, imo, but I paid it telling myself "it's totally gonna be worth it you cheap bastard."

making real beef stock from beef bones produces the richest, most wonderful base for vegetable soup that you can imagine. if you've never gone to the trouble, put it on your bucket list. roast the bones in a shallow roasting pan with a quartered onion and couple of chopped carrots. I threw in a few smashed cloves of garlic this time. roast at 400 for about one hour and get the bones and meat still on them very brown, but not charred. put the browned bones and veggies in a large stock pot cover with a inch or two of water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to the lightest simmer you can, cover lightly and cook for 6-8 hours. do not stir. the idea is to keep the temp just below boiling, around 190-200*. you can put the pot in the oven set at 190, too. after at least 4 hours (8 is better) scoop out the big chunks with a slotted spoon, strain the rest through a sieve or colander lined with a few layers of cheesecloth. let cool and refrigerate over night. all the fat will rise to the top and harden. remove all of it, put your congealed stock back on the stove and reduce to two quarts.

heavily browned, cubed beef bottom round, home canned tomatoes and green beans, onion, carrot, celery, corn, cabbage, canned Chantarelles, fresh picked Bay leaves, Yukon golds and barley in mine. in a few minutes, I'll add the barley and cook another half hour, then I dine. If somebody made an air freshener that smells like kitchen does right now, I'd buy it.

bouquet garni of fresh thyme and rosemary, and fresh bay leaf floating on left side

vegetable beef soup.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stressless and Mike

Jamie

Senior Member
5,684
166
Ohio
That looks to die for.

I must say, it's one of my best efforts to date, and I wrote down exactly how much of what I put in it this time for the first time ever. I'm glad it turned out. nothing worse than 2 1/2 gallons of so-so soup, lol.

no, I've not tried deer bones. I suspect it would not produce the same result, perhaps not even desirable results, but I could be dead wrong about that. A friend of mine is a Certified Master Chef and a serious traditional bowhunter. he kills deer, butchers them like a pro (because he is one) and he has never once mentioned using deer bones for stock, or for anything at all. if it were worth doing, he'd probably be doing it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stressless and Mike

xbowguy

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
29,603
234
Licking Co. Ohio
Looks and Sounds Awesome Jamie!

When my Dad taught me how to make his version of Vegetable soup... He flat out refused to teach me with a deer roast. (And he would eat deer as well) Said it's not his soup with deer in it! Respected his wishes ever since.
 

MoonLab

Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.
Supporting Member
10,371
145
Tooville
Sounds really good. My next step too making that soup. Never done it. Been wanting too do that for a long time
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,361
191
Portage
She first started doing it with turkey and chicken leftovers. It literally turns to jello. She does ziplock bags of it and freezes it in all different sizes.

Me too....and I need to collect the poultry fat for my poultry sausage recipes.

The meat remnants turn into pot pie.
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,361
191
Portage
My local butcher has some soup bones for me. Soup is on this weekend.

Just the way my Grandma used to do it. Old Skool is Kool. :smiley_coolpeace:

Thanks for the reminder Jamie.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stressless

Jamie

Senior Member
5,684
166
Ohio
I'm all about old skool. the old ways are very often still the best ways, particularly in the kitchen. tried and true for good reason. I had two bowls of vegetable beef soup for dinner tonight. I'm all about leftovers, too. happy soupin', Buckmaster.:smile:
 

Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,836
223
Up Nort
My my grandmother taught me how to make the best chicken noodle soup. Once she mage soup out of leftover roast beef and spaghetti. It was damn good. Nothing went to waste.