I have made Julia Child’s French Onion Soup Gratineed four times so far and it is just amazing!
I made it again recently for our friends because it is one of their favorites. They both agreed it is over the top delicious!
You can, of course, make this soup using packaged good quality beef stock (I did the first time I made it), but, if you have the time it is well worth making your own Brown Beef Stock!
Here’s what Julia has to say on the subject…
“Beef stock is the base for beef stews, rich brown sauces, and wonderful soups, such as French Onion, oxtail, beef and vegetable. There’s nothing like your own personal stock to give all of these soups your own special flavor.”
Brown Beef Stock (Julia Child, The Way to Cook)
Raw Beef bones, some of them meaty, are what you want here, such as the shank, the neck, the knuckle; leg bones, too, plus any raw scraps you may have collected in your freezer- ribs, steak bones, and so forth.
If the bones are too big, ask your butcher to chop them up into pieces of 3 inches or less.
There is nothing fancy about this home-style stock. To get a good brown color, however, you do want to brown the bones half and hour or so in a hot oven; the rest of the cooking is simply a matter of quiet and almost unattended simmering.
Ingredients (For about 3 quarts of stock)
3 to 4 pounds (4 quarts or so) of raw beef bones (some meaty), sawed into pieces of 3 inches or less
2 each: large carrots, onions, and celery ribs, roughly chopped
6 or more quarts cold water
A large size herb bouquet of fresh thyme, parsley with stems attached, bay leaves, plus 4 allspice berries and 6 peppercorns.
2 large cloves of unpeeled garlic, smashed (include in herb bouquet0
Note: Tie the herbs together in cheesecloth so they will stay in a bundle and be easy to remove after cooking. Tie with white kitchen twine.
1 large unpeeled tomato, cored and roughly chopped, or ½ cup canned Italian plum tomatoes
1 and1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more as needed later
To Cook
Browning the bones (30 to 40 minutes)
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Arrange the bones and ½ cup each of the chopped vegetables in the roasting pan and brown in the upper third of the oven, turning and basting with accumulated fat several times until they are a good walnut brown.
Scoop the bones and vegetables into the kettle; pour out and discard the accumulated fat.
Deglazing the roasting pan
Pour 2 cups of the water into the pan and bring to the boil over moderately high heat; using a wooden spoon, scrape browning juices into the liquid, then pour the liquid over the browned bones in the kettle.
Simmering the stock (4 to 5 hours)
Add the herb bouquet to the kettle and the rest of the vegetables listed, with enough water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches.
Bring to the simmer on top of the stove; skim off and discard grey scum that will collect on the surface for several minutes.
Add 1 and ½ teaspoons of salt. Cover loosely, and maintain at the slow simmer, skimming fat and scum occasionally, and adding a little boiling water if the liquid has evaporated below the surface of the ingredients.
Simmer till you feel the bones have given their all.
Straining and degreasing
Strain the stock through a colander into a large bowl, pressing juices out of the ingredients.
Degrease the stock by either chilling it so the fat hardens on top or by using a degreasing pitcher.
Season the degreased stock lightly to taste.
Strain again, this time into a fine-meshed sieve into a clean pan or container.
AHEAD OF TIME NOTE: May be prepared in advance; chill uncovered, then cover and refrigerate or freeze.