Try this recipe for good results. Quantities are for small-scale, stove-top batches (about 1 gallon) of beef stock.
Ingredients
Vegetable oil for drizzling 4–5 lbs meaty beef bones (with bone marrow), including knuckle bones
1 lb beef stew meat (chuck or flank steak), cut into 2-inch pieces
2 large onions
2 large carrots
1 large celery stalk or 2–3 smaller ones (include celery tops and leaves)
½ tsp whole black peppercorns 2 bay leaves 4 sprigs parsley (if available) 2 garlic cloves (if available)
Method
1. Preheat convection oven to 375°F (400°F for conventional oven).
2. Clean whole, unpeeled vegetables thoroughly and cut into 1-inch pieces. It’s fine to add clean vegetable scraps (for example, carrot and onion peels) from other prep work to the stock too.
3. Place bones, meat, carrots, and onions in a roasting pan (sheet pans or steam-table pans, if roasting pans are unavailable). 4. Drizzle vegetable oil generously over the ingredients. Roast in oven until brown, about 30–35 minutes (45 minutes for conventional oven), flipping bones and meat halfway through cooking.
5. Transfer the roasted bones, meat, and vegetables to a large stock pot.
6. Place the roasting pan(s) on the stove over low heat. Pour ½ cup water in the roasting pan to deglaze it and use a metal spatula to scrape up the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
7. Add deglazed browned bits in water (for great flavor and color!), celery, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, and peppercorns to the stockpot. Fill the stockpot with cold water, covering the bones and vegetables by 1–2 inches. Bring mixture to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to bring the stock to a slight simmer.
8. Partially cover the pot and simmer for at least 3–4 hours, occasionally skimming off any foam and fat that come to the surface. For a richer flavor, cook for 6–8 hours.
9. Strain out and discard the solids with a slotted spoon. Pour through a sieve or fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl.
10. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Remove solid fat from the surface