This is a classical French-style recipe for homemade beef stock. It’s much better than store-bought stock and one of the main things that sets restaurant cooking apart from home cooking.
Let me say from the outset: homemade beef stock requires effort. It takes time—at least four hours, but ten hours is better—because you have to throw away a lot of hot bones and clean up the big pots and pans.
As a home cook, I rely on broth and stock to add rich, savory flavor to soups, stews, grains, sauces and more. But I don’t always have homemade stock on hand. That’s where beef stock cubes come in so handy! Those little cubes of concentrated flavor make whipping up broth a breeze. But how many should you use per liter of water? Let’s find out.
The Basics: 1 Cube Per 1 Litre of Water
The standard guideline for making broth with beef stock cubes is simple
- Use 1 beef stock cube per 1 litre of water
Most cubes weigh about 8-10 grams. When dissolved in a litre of water, they provide the equivalent flavor of 1 litre of beef broth or stock.
Of course, you can adjust the amount of cubes to suit your taste. For a milder broth use just 1/2 cube per litre. If you want an intense beefy flavor, you could use up to 2 cubes per litre of water. But for a standard broth stick with that 1 1 ratio.
Tips for Making Broth with Beef Stock Cubes
Here are some tips to get the most flavor from your beef stock cubes:
-
Use good quality, full-bodied cubes like Knorr or Maggi brands. Cheap cubes may have less intense beef flavor.
-
Always dissolve the cubes fully in boiling water before adding to dishes to avoid funny textured lumps.
-
Simmer the broth for 15-20 minutes after adding cubes to allow flavors to develop.
-
Add extras like herbs, garlic, onion, celery or carrots for more complexity.
-
For a smoother broth, blend or strain out vegetables after simmering.
-
Refrigerate broth for up to 5 days or freeze for months to have it on hand whenever.
-
Reduce additional salt in recipes until after the broth to allow for cube’s saltiness.
Creative Uses for Beef Broth Made With Cubes
Besides using your beef broth in soups and stews, get creative with these other ways to utilize it:
-
Cook grains like rice, quinoa or barley in broth instead of water for extra savory flavor.
-
Use when sautéing meats and veggies to add an instant flavor boost.
-
Add to pan sauces, gravies and braising liquid for meats.
-
Put a flavor spin on risotto, pilafs or legume dishes by cooking in beef broth.
-
Reduce slightly to use as a rich, meaty glaze for roasts or chops.
-
Mix with flour to make a savory dredging batter for meat or veggies before frying.
-
Infuse umami flavor into cheeses, eggs or creamy dishes by blending with broth.
-
Thin with more broth rather than water when reheating leftovers.
With my simple formula of 1 beef stock cube per 1 litre of hot water, you’ll be ready to whip up flavourful broth anytime. Don’t be afraid to experiment with adjusting amounts and add-ins until you find your perfect cup of beefy flavor.
How to make beef stock
- Spread bones out on tray to roast. When you roast something, it adds a lot of flavor and color to the stock.
- Roast bones at 180°C/350°F for an hour, turning them over every half hour, until they are nicely browned all over.
- Put beef bones in a stock pot that is at least 7 liters or quarts in size;
- Put in the vegetables and herbs, along with 3 liters of water just enough to cover the bones. Put the bones and vegetables close together to reduce the amount of water they need. Nobody wants to end up with a watery beef stock!.
- Clean out the pan. Don’t throw away the tasty drippings on the tray; put it on the stove with a little water and let it simmer. The drippings will mix with the water as it cooks. You could also do this in the oven;.
- Scrape pan juices into the pot;
- 3–8 hour simmer on stove: Simmer the stock on the stove for at least 3 hours and up to 8 hours if possible. Stove is the traditional method, and it’s entirely hands-off. The heat should be very low, so there are only a few bubbles here and there. You shouldn’t have to stir it. Soak or boil to get things done faster; it will make the stock cloudy. You can choose the faster 3-hour simmer. We often use this option because I can’t keep a pot of stock simmering all day. If you choose this option, we simmer on a slightly higher heat level to reduce the water faster. We also lower the stock to bring out the flavor even more after straining it. The difference in taste between 3 and 8 hours? Well, of course, 8 hours makes the soup taste better. But practicality comes into play here, and while the extra 5 hours will make an even better stock, a 3 hour simmer will still do a great job;
- You can cook it in the oven for 8 hours or even overnight (my record is 15 hours, and it was a great batch!), or you can put it in the slow cooker and cook it on low for 8 hours.
This is what the stock water level looks like after 8 hours on the stove. The water level should reduce from around the 5. 75 liters or quarts to about 4 liters (if you count the bones and other things that are still in the water):
Straining, storage and using
Once the stock has reduced, it’s a matter of straining, discarding excess fat then storing for use!
- Strain: Take the bones out of the stock and pour it through a fine-mesh colander or strainer into a large bowl or clean pot.
- Yield: ~ 1. 3 – 1. 6 liters or quarts: Leave the vegetables in the strainer for a few minutes to get as much liquid out as you can. You should have around 1. 5 litres / quarts of liquid. After getting rid of the extra fat (step 3) there should be about 1 25 litres / quarts of stock;.
- Put the pot in a sink full of cold water with the lid off to cool it down quickly. As it heats up, change the water about every 20 minutes. It should take about 1 hour and fifteen minutes for it to cool down to room temperature, which is about 21°C/70°F. To stop bacteria from growing (they like warm places!) it needs to cool quickly, so we can put it in the fridge as soon as possible. Do not put a big pot of hot stock in the fridge. If you do, the temperature inside the fridge will rise a lot, which is not good.
- Put in the fridge—Transfer to a good storage container—I use a jug—and then put in the fridge;
- Get rid of the fat on top. Once it has been in the fridge for a while, the fat on top will solidify into a white mass. Carefully scrape it off with a big, flat spoon and throw it away. This is beef stock after the fat has been taken out and it has been chilled. It solidifies into a jelly because of the gelatin. Gelatin is what gives the stock that rich, high-end restaurant taste. Because it doesn’t have much gelatin, store-bought stock is always thick.
- There you have it! Your stock is now ready to be used and will keep in the fridge for 7 days (I’ve been told 10 days is fine, but I say up to 7 just to be safe). Else, it can freeze for up to 3 months.
I like to store stock in 1- or 2-cup portions, labelled, in the freezer.
What Are Bouillon Cubes? (15 Little Known Facts About This Popular Ingredient)
FAQ
How many stock cubes make a Litre?
How many beef stock cubes for 500ml?
How many beef stock cubes should I use?
How much does 1 beef stock cube make?
What are beef stock cubes made of?
The remainder of a commercial cube contains salt, sugar (s), modified starches, oils, yeast extracts and flavour enhancers, many present in larger amounts than the beef extract after which the cube is named. I’m not going to lie. Making your own beef stock cubes does require a significant time investment.
How much boiling water & stock cubes do you use?
The recipes both say 2L boiling water and 2 stock cubes. Telling me what stock cube you use to what quantity of water could be useful so others don’t just repeat the same stock cube information (quick photo? ). Thanks It will vary according to brand. Marigold veg powder says add 4 level tsp per litre to one litre.
How do you store Beef stock cubes?
Store the beef stock cubes in a bag in the freezer and use in place of store bought bouillon cubes, along with salt, in recipes. If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the RSS or twitter feeds. I like the idea – however it is not advisable to store them at room [or even fridge] temperature!
Are homemade beef stock cubes good?
Homemade beef stock cubes have all the convenience of a commercial stock cube, without the additives. They also contain a lot more beef. Read the ingredient list on almost any commercial stock cube. Beef is often listed as 2 – 3% of the total ingredients.