Preheat oven to 220°C.
Spread bones in a roasting pan & roast for about 30 minutes, turning once. Remove from the oven, & paint a thin layer of tomato paste over the bones. Put the vegetables on top of the bones, & roast an additional 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables begin to caramelize.
Remove the bones & vegetables to a large stock pot.
Deglaze the roasting pan with wine or water, & pour this into the stock pot.
Add peppercorns, bay leaves & thyme. Cover the bones with cold water.
Over medium heat, slowly bring the bones up to a very gentle simmer. Don’t let the stock boil.
Adjust the temperature to maintain a gentle simmer. Every thirty minutes or so, skim off any impurities that rise to the top of the pot.
Let the stock simmer gently for at least 8 to 12 hours. Add a little more water & lower the heat if you are getting too much evaporation.

Preheat oven to 220°C.
Spread bones in a roasting pan & roast for about 30 minutes, turning once. Remove from the oven, & paint a thin layer of tomato paste over the bones. Put the vegetables on top of the bones, & roast an additional 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables begin to caramelize.
Remove the bones & vegetables to a large stock pot.
Deglaze the roasting pan with wine or water, & pour this into the stock pot.
Add peppercorns, bay leaves & thyme. Cover the bones with cold water.
Over medium heat, slowly bring the bones up to a very gentle simmer. Don’t let the stock boil.
Adjust the temperature to maintain a gentle simmer. Every thirty minutes or so, skim off any impurities that rise to the top of the pot.
Let the stock simmer gently for at least 8 to 12 hours. Add a little more water & lower the heat if you are getting too much evaporation.
When the stock is done, remove the bones & discard. Strain through a very fine mesh strainer or through a colander lined with three or four layers of cheesecloth.
Chill quickly, then refrigerate. Skim off the fat from that has solidified on top, & discard.

Veal stock, though it may not be a household staple, is a common sight in professional kitchens across Europe & crucial to classical French cookery. Veal bones naturally contain more gelatine than beef bones, which gives the stock body. The resulting stock has a milder flavour than beef (which can sometimes be overpowering) & is absolutely packed with umami, making it a great base for many dishes.
Professional kitchens have the capability to make tens of litres of veal stock at a time, which would usually be simmering away for no less than twelve hours. The recipe below has been adapted for a smaller quantity suitable for a home kitchen, & therefore only takes 4–6 hours to create a top-quality stock.
There are two types of veal stock; brown & white. White veal stock sees the bones & vegetables simmered without any pre-roasting, giving it a more delicate flavoured stock & paler colour. Brown veal stock, on the other hand, sees the bones & vegetables roasted first before simmering down with water for a deeper flavour & colour.
As it takes a good few hours to prepare, it is a good idea to make up a large batch of stock & freeze in portions, so you always have some to hand.

Bones: Thicker bones such as knuckles contain the most collagen, which breaks down into gelatine & gives the stock body, so select them if you can. Bones should be mostly free of meat & as fresh as possible; white with bright red blood rather than grey with dark blood. They will often arrive frozen, which is perfectly fine, & are usually chopped into smaller manageable pieces, but double check that your butcher can do this for you if not as you need a bandsaw to get through them.
Roast the bones for a good long time to get as much caramelised flavour on them as possible. Sometimes the bones are smothered in tomato purée as well as a drizzle of olive oil before roasting for a deeper colour. Be sure to deglaze the roasting tray with a splash of wine & scrape off all of the caramelised bits to add to the stock pot– don’t waste this extra flavour!
Fresh veal bones should be white & bright, rather than grey

Vegetables & aromatics: The traditional vegetables added to brown veal stock are a mirepoix of onion, celery, leek & carrot. The vegetables are finely sliced to provide a greater surface area, helping to extract maximum flavour. You can either caramelise slowly in a pan as the bones are roasting, or if you want a slightly more hands-off approach, roast the vegetables in the oven. Whilst classical methods say a single sliver of burnt onion can turn an entire pot of stock bitter, some chefs will add halved onions & carrots which have been completely blackened on one side to get a really deep, almost smoky flavour into their stock.
Garlic is added (no need to peel), along with thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves (fresh or dried) & sometimes cloves. Tomato purée is added for its umami flavour & it also helps you achieve a rich, deep colour. As a rule, the higher quality vegetables you use in your stock, the higher quality stock you will end up with. Having said that, stocks can be a good way of preventing food waste by using up trimmings & peel. Just ensure skins have been washed first, & that they are used in conjunction with fresh vegetables.

Water & seasoning: Never salt a veal stock while it’s cooking, as it reduces down for such a long time & can easily become too salty. As the stock is never used as a standalone product, it is safer to leave it completely unseasoned until it becomes part of a finished sauce or dish.
Always use cold water when making brown veal stock, as this encourages the fat & impurities to rise to the surface. This makes it easier to skim them away, giving you a nice clear stock.