Roasting bones for stock?

[quietserena]

I've never done this before! Why is it done? Flavor?

At what point do you do it, after the first boil and before the simmering? Or do that first?

Do you do it for all bones or just beef? Lamb too? How about fowl? (Can you tell I've made soup from a lot of different bones? )

Do you roast turkey and chicken carcasses before making stock too?

Anything else that I need to know about stock?

Thanks!

[phroggies]

I do it for flavor. With beef stock, I roast the meatier bones for about an hour at 250. For the chicken, usually, I'm just using bones that are leftover from roast chicken. Either way, I use a combination of roasted and non-roasted, meaty and non-meaty. I do it before I put the bones in the pot. Never done lamb, but it's probably the same.

The main thing you need to know about making stock is that it's not that hard. Just throwing things into the pot and simmering them for a while will give you stock. Maybe not the best or healthiest stock possible, but it will be better than anything you could get in the store.

The tip I've found most helpful is to put some (maybe half a cup?) apple cider vinegar in with the water you use to cover the bones. Let it sit for an hour before you start cooking it (I do this while I'm roasting bones). It leaches out more of the nutrients from the bones and in my case at least seems to give me a better gel.

[quietserena]

Stock is a very common thing at our house - I love a clear soup with bits of meat and a few noodles and a few vegetables. Makes a perfect first course.

It's funny about it gelling - I grew up trying to make sure the stock didn't gel and that the soup was as clear as it could be, until I realized that the gelatin was actually beneficial. Now I use the crockpot for many hours and get some good stock that gels easily. And once I started adding ACV it's helped with that a lot.

I'll have to remember to roast some of the bones next time I make stock, and see how I like the different taste.

[yitlan]

Seems like Fallon talked about roasting giving it a nice color. I suppose it affects flavor, too. But I'm all about easy, so I just throw everything into the crockpot and forget about it, all with good results!

[beachcomber]

phroggies, I'm definitely going to try the cider vinegar tip!

I roast bones for color and flavour. It's especially noticeable with chicken bones. The stock just seems richer and tastier.