Dark Roasted Beef Stock — Pressure Cooker

Instructions

Steps show original quantities. Use the adjusted ingredient list for your batch; times stay unchanged.

1. Heat the oven to 230°C. Pat the thawed beef bones dry, place them in the 14-inch cast-iron skillet, and roast for 25 minutes.

2. After 25 minutes, flip all the bones. If substantial liquid fat has rendered into the skillet, do not add the onion, garlic, or tomato paste yet. Return the bones alone to the 230°C oven and continue roasting for about 20–30 minutes, until deeply browned without burning.

3. Transfer the browned bones to the pressure cooker. Carefully pour the accumulated rendered beef fat through a fine strainer into a heatproof container, leaving the dark browned fond in the skillet and only a thin film of fat behind.

4. Quarter 1 large onion through the root. Remove loose or dirty outer paper but leave clean brown skin attached. Halve 1 head garlic crosswise. Place the onion quarters cut-side down and the garlic cut-side down in the hot skillet.

5. Roast 1 large quartered onion and 1 halved head garlic at 230°C for about 15–20 minutes. Begin checking around 12–15 minutes because the cast iron is already very hot. Aim for deeply browned onion surfaces and golden-to-deep-brown garlic, not blackened flesh.

6. For the final 5 minutes of roasting, add 1 tbsp tomato paste and allow it to darken to a deep brick-red without burning.

7. Transfer the roasted onion, garlic, and tomato paste to the pressure cooker with the bones.

8. Place the skillet over medium heat and add 150 ml dry red wine. Scrape up the browned fond and simmer the 150 ml wine for about 2–3 minutes, then pour all of the deglazing liquid into the pressure cooker.

9. Add 2 bay leaves, 5–6 fresh thyme sprigs, and 8–10 whole black peppercorns.

10. Add hot filtered water only until the bones are barely covered; it is fine if the tops of some bones protrude slightly. Stay below the pressure cooker's maximum-fill line. Do not salt the stock.

11. Bring the cooker to full/high pressure. Once full pressure is reached, reduce the heat as needed to maintain pressure and cook for 90 minutes.

12. After 90 minutes, turn off the heat and allow a natural pressure release, ideally for at least 20–30 minutes.

13. Remove the large solids and strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer without aggressively pressing or mashing the solids.

14. If a more concentrated freezer stock is desired, simmer the strained stock uncovered until noticeably concentrated. Cool promptly and refrigerate.

15. Once thoroughly chilled, lift off the solidified beef fat. If the fat contains gelatin or watery meat juices underneath, separate those from the solid fat. The cleaned fat may be gently remelted and strained again into a clean, dry jar, then refrigerated or frozen.

16. Freeze the concentrated, unsalted stock in convenient portions or ice-cube trays for later cooking.

Success cues

• Bones are deeply browned rather than merely gray or pale, with no burnt black surfaces.
• Onion cut surfaces are deeply caramelized and garlic is golden to deep brown.
• Tomato paste becomes deep brick-red without burning.
• Finished stock has pronounced beef flavor even though it is deliberately unsalted.
• A collagen-rich batch may become gelatinous when refrigerated.

Scaling notes

Bone weight, water volume, and final yield are unknown, so no measured baseline is available for proportional scaling. Retain the listed aromatics as the intended recipe, not a verified ratio per kilogram of bones. Add hot water only to barely cover the bones and stay below the cooker’s maximum-fill line. Saved rendered fat is an output of the bones, not an additional ingredient to purchase. Do not multiply the 90-minute pressure-cook duration by yield.

Storage

• Cool finished stock promptly, refrigerate, then freeze concentrated stock in convenient portions or ice-cube trays.
• Keep separated rendered beef fat refrigerated in a clean, dry jar; freeze small portions for longer storage.