Why Make Lamb Stock?
Great question and I’m not sure how often you will find a recipe calling for homemade lamb stock, but if you do, here’s a recipe you can use.
If you don’t feel liking finding lamb bones, roasting them, and then simmering them for a while, be happy to know there is an excellent commercial product on the market that does the work for you.
Or you could always substitute beef stock but isn’t that cheating? Making lamb stock is almost identical to preparing beef stock, except you are using lamb bones rather than beef bones.
But finding lamb bones may be more of a challenge than you think unless you have a good relationship with your local butcher, who will save you some when they bone out the legs of lambs for their customers.
Lamb Bones May Be Healthier For You
If you can find lamb bones at your market, they are typically much cheaper than beef marrow bones, especially if you are on a Paleo/Primal diet and only purchase grass-feed beef bones that are much more expensive.
And since most lamb raised in the United States is “pasture-raised” and not filled with all the crazy chemicals fed to our beef, the meat, and bones from lamb may be healthier for you than beef.
Another alternative is to make a batch of stock with bones from that leftover bone-in leg of lamb you prepared on Sunday. So now you are starting with bones already roasted, eliminating one step for making the stock.
Lamb stock is more robust than beef or chicken stock, so you can freeze some in small containers and small amounts to enhance other lamb recipes, including lamb stew, rice, or lamb risotto. Or you can try your hand at a traditional Scotch broth with winter vegetables, a classic Scottish dish.
Lamb Stock Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lamb bones
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large onion peeled and chopped
- 1 rib celery chopped
- 3 carrots chopped
- 3 sprigs fresh parsley
- 8 whole peppercorns
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- In a large roasting pan, big enough to hold all the bones, spread them out in one layer and coat them with a bit of vegetable oil. Roast the bones for one hour, turning them once or twice so they don’t burn.If you think they are getting too brown too quickly, turn down the heat some and don’t roast as long. When done, remove from oven and reserve.
- About 15 minutes before the bones are done roasting, heat a large stock pot over medium heat, add two tablespoons of oil, and when hot, add the onions. Cook for 3 - 5 minutes.
- Add the celery and carrots and cook for an additional 5 - 8 minutes. Transfer the bones to the stock pot and cover with water, about 12 cups.
- Add the parsley and peppercorns to the pot. Bring to a boil and remove any foam or scum that forms.
- Reduce the heat and cook at a simmer for about 2 - 2 ½ hours, skimming off any foam that comes back to the surface.
- Take the stockpot off the heat and let it cool down before you strain it through a fine strainer. If you need to, use a colander and some cheesecloth. Discard the bones and vegetables.
- Let the lamb stock cool down to room temperature before covering and refrigerating. You don’t want to work your fridge too hard by adding a hot container of stock to it.
- As the lamb stock cools overnight, fat will surface to the top and get hard. Use a spoon to remove the surface fat and discard. The stock is now ready to use.
Notes
How to Purchase Restaurant Quality Lamb StockUntil now, a classic homemade quality lamb stock was unavailable to home cooks unless they prepared it themselves or settled for a commercial brand loaded with m.s.g. and other chemicals Now there is a lamb stock on the market called Glace d'Agneau Gold that is almost as good as homemade. Used in many high-end restaurants, home cooks won't believe there is now an affordable alternative to making it themselves. For years we suggested you purchase these products from a favorite gourmet website but now that Amazon is stocking these products at prices 35% less, we suggest you buy them here: Restaurant Quality Lamb Stock $$$$
Glace D'agneau Gold Roasted Lamb Stock |
Luz B. Errico
Thanks for sharing this lamb stock recipe with us, this will help me to organize perfect dinner party hope very one like as taste.
Gaelen
Hi,
I'm thinking of trying to make this broth and I'm just wondering if you can use bones from leftover lamb leg roasts and, if so, should the leftover bones be roasted or is it better to skip this step?
Thanks in advance for any advice. 🙏🏽
G. Stephen Jones
Hi Gaelen, sure you can use bones from a leftover leg of lamb and no you don't have to roast it again. Enjoy.
Alistair Skinner
I use a Lamb Stock to make my Nova Scotian version of Mulligatawny Soup. To me Lamb has always gone hand in hand with Curries. I use Nova Scotian apples when in season, Onions, Celery Carrots, a Basic Madras Curry Powder, and I cream it and add add Coconut milk and fresh thyme. Its one of my wife's favorites. Thanks for the stock recipe.
Tim Heywood
Lamb is quite fatty but the fat has lots of flavour. When I bone out a shoulder, I reserve the trimmings. After making stock (the veg and the bones can be roasted for a richer flavour), the fat disc on the stock and the trimmings can be heated in a frying pan until all the water is driven out and the fat is rendered. The fat after sieving and cooling makes a terrific frying medium for curries etc.
G. Stephen Jones
Hi Tim, thanks for sharing this tip for rendering the fat. Great idea. Happy New Year.
Tami
If I don’t have lamb leg bones can I use leftover lamb chop bones?
G. Stephen Jones
I suppose you could but they won't have as much marrow or collagen as the leg bone. And you may need more of them to make a stock.
JB
How long is it ok to keep a lamb bone from a roast in the fridge and still make stock from it? I didn't get around to make a stock from the bone and it's now day 6 since we had the lamb as a roast, will it still be safe to make a stock from it? Thanks
G. Stephen Jones
JB, that's a question for a food nutritionist, which I am not. It really depends on how they were stored in the refrigerator meaning were they vacuum sealed or just stuck in a zip lock bag. I suggest you do a search for "How long can you keep lamb bones in the refrigerator" and see what comes up.
Jean Crowe
I purchase a local whole or half lamb every year, which includes several packages of ribs. Since lamb ribs are so thin I would like to use them to make stock for soup or stew. Any suggestions for using ribs for stock.
G. Stephen Jones
Hi Jean, a rack of lamb ribs may just be the best cut of meat on the lamb. I would not use them for soup or stew but use the leg bones for your stock.