Stock.
Ever wonder what makes some recipes taste so much better than others? Often, it’s homemade stock. If you’ve never gotten into the habit of making stock, you should… especially if there’s gravy or turkey soup in your future. Here’s an easy plan to make and keep your freezer stocked (see what I did there?) with this culinary secret weapon.
There are two secrets to great stock. Lots of aromatics and collagen. Huh? Well, let me explain. First, aromatics are things that impart their tasty essence during cooking. Herbs, garlic, onion, celery and carrots are all classic aromatics you’ll find flavoring up a good stock pot. Their essence is released in a number of ways but usually into fat or oil through the process of sautéing or in an emulsion when heated in liquid. Making stock, we often do both.
Collagen is released from meat or poultry parts like backs and necks, feet or wings. It provides taste and body to stock and is very good for us, too.
A good way to get started making stock is to make saving bones and carcasses from poultry a habit. If you’ve just enjoyed a roast chicken or even a grocery store rotisserie bird, keep the bones and wing tips in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Add a bunch of fresh or frozen wings to the mix and Bob’s yer Uncle.
Every Sunday, almost, I make stock in the afternoon. There’s nothing more pleasant than watching a movie and having a little knit while something fragrant bubbles along on the stove…
You’ll need a couple of chickens-worth of bones, or you can go one better and use a couple of stewing hens. When whole chickens (or small turkeys) go on sale, pick up a few and freeze them for later!
Here’s a good recipe, but you don’t have to follow it slavishly. Use what you’ve got, or experiment with other things like star anise or ginger root.
Let’s go!
Two whole chickens (4-5 pounds each) or a combination of backs, necks, wings and sautéed giblets (if you like them.) You can cut the chickens into quarters or throw them in whole if your pot is big enough. If you’re using backs and necks from a spatchcocked turkey or rotisserie carcasses, I like to add a pound or so of fresh chicken wings for added flavor.
Three or four carrots, three or four stalks of celery with leaves, two onions, and a head of garlic cut in half. Wash everything, but don’t bother to scrape or peel. Just roughly chop, take the stems off the carrots and throw in the pot.
Add four or five bay leaves (get fresh ones if you can) a big handful of Italian Parsley and some other green herbs like thyme or rosemary. Throw in a couple of tablespoons of whole peppercorns, too, but hold off on the salt until later.
Your pot should be roughly half full. Cover everything with cold water leaving three or four inches of “head room” in the pot. Now, turn the heat up to high and let ‘er rip.
Bring the pot to a boil then turn down to a low simmer. Partially cover. A big pot of stock should cook for three to four hours on a steady simmer. The liquids volume should have reduced by about a third, but taste and see. Cook until the broth is flavorful and rich.
Strain out all the bones and vegetables. If you’ve used whole chickens, pick the meat from legs and breasts for soup or chicken salad later. A second strain through a cheesecloth lined colander or strainer is usually beneficial.
Return the liquid to a clean pot and chill for a couple of hours (in the fridge or on the back porch if it’s cold enough out.) After chilling, you can skim off what ever fat remains in the liquid.
Now, taste and season. In addition to salt and added pepper, you can add a little Asian fish sauce or even soy sauce to punch up the umami.
Cool and use immediately or freeze. You can use restaurant style plastic containers or even ice cube trays. I like to have both sizes available since a sauce might need just a couple of cubes worth while soup wants as much as a quart.
Once stock is part of your culinary life, you’ll wonder why bouillon cubes or store bought was ever sufficient!
