Trim the meats of excess fat, rinse, and place in a stockpot. Cover generously with cold water, salt very lightly, and slowly bring to a boil. Add all the other ingredients, lower the heat, and simmer 3–4 hours, depending on the desired concentration of flavor. (I’d suggest more rather than less; for a lighter soup, a concentrated stock always can be quickly diluted with water.) Skim the surface of froth and fat as they accumulate.

Remove from the stove, strain through a very fine sieve, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, skim off the solid surface fat. The stock then can be kept under refrigeration up to 3 days or frozen for several months.

Variations: With the same quantities of vegetables and seasoning, beef, veal, or chicken stock can be prepared using the following amounts of meat and bones.

Beef Stock

1 pound each beef bones (preferably marrow bones), beef shin, and short ribs or oxtails

Veal Stock

1½ pounds each veal shin bones and muscles or neck and breast of veal, bone in and fat removed

Chicken Stock

3 pounds chicken backs and wings