Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Beef Bones

We made French Onion Soup from scratch, and it was the richest, deepest, most savory example of the classic dish I have ever tasted. And when I say from scratch, I mean from scratch. Just about the only thing I didn't do was birth the beeve.

But we did start with five pounds of beef soup bones packed with marrow. We roasted them, then slow cooked them in a crockpot, along with a carrot, a celery stalk, an onion, 12 (yes, 12) garlic cloves, kosher salt, cracked pepper, and a bay leaf. We covered everything with water and let it cook on high for 24 hours!*

*(Our crockpot had to be reset every 8 hours, so if yours is the same, plan accordingly.)

We then strained the stock and let it cool completely, then refrigerated the broth in a covered container overnight.

When it came time to make the soup, we removed the container from the fridge, and a pure white layer of tallow lifted cleanly off, revealing the glistening gelatin below.

Shellie caramelized 4 medium-sized yellow onions in butter, made a roux, then allowed the gelatin to melt in. This simmered for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, she oven-toasted slices of French bread drizzled with olive oil.

After the 30 minutes, we ladled the stock into individual oven-proof crocks. Shellie placed a slice of provolone cheese on the bottom of the crocks before adding soup. We then floated a slice of toast on top, then added a slice of Swiss cheese and another slice of provolone. These got put, uncovered, into a 350 degree oven for another half hour.

Our crocks are oven safe, but not broiler safe. The usual method for finishing this dish is to place the crocks under the broiler to brown the cheese. However our cheese browned up beautifully, thank you, without this step.

Be forewarned. You will burn your mouth on this soup. It's that good.