Stock
Stock is an essential part of the professional kitchen. And professional chefs make their own.
Hidden in the corner of the culinary school kitchen is a VERY large pot filled to the brim with what can only be described as liquid “stuff.”
It sits on a very low burner that’s almost constantly on, but the liquid in the pot is not simmering. Every now and then, it emits a small bubble. It’s still, silent, and radiates hardly any heat. But it’s impossible to ignore because it fills the kitchen with a gloriously rich, satisfying aroma.
This is stock.
Any serious kitchen is going to have a stockpot like this going. Sometimes multiple. Most commonly it’ll be chicken stock. Often you’ll see beef stock, which many times will be reduced to a demi glace (more on that below). Sometimes you’ll even see fish, shellfish, or even vegetable stock.
But stock there will be, because a good, rich stock is an essential ingredient in cooking a wide variety of dishes. Stock IS flavor. It forms the base of dozens of sauces, soups, braises, and stews. It can be used to cook rice, quinoa, and other grains. Sometimes it is just good to sip on its own.
So if you’re cooking, you’re gonna need some stock. And without question, or without fail, a properly made stock you make yourself will pay far greater dividends than any stock you buy in a box at a store.
I’ve made my own stock for years. Then I started culinary school, and realized I’ve made my own stock improperly for years… purely out of ignorance. But once I learned to just adjust a few levers (literally) I’m now churning out a regular supply of rich, flavorful, useful stock.
“Stock is the first shortcut home cooks make, but the most important to do yourself. Once you make your own, you won’t go back.”
“Stock is not a trash can.” It’s an intentional act for a range of useful purposes. It’s the fond, the foundation of flavor. so important to do properly.
So here’s how…
Broth vs Stock
First, let’s clear a few things up. Broth and stock are not the same thing. If you are still buying stock in boxes at the store, but are buying broth, you’re likely buying the wrong thing.
Stock is made by extracting gelatin from bones. Broth is made by extracting flavor from flesh. So poaching a whole chicken to use in a soup will result in a pretty good broth. Simmering the carcass left over from a roast chicken is making a stock.
Because stocks are based on bones, they are full of gelatin, giving them a jello-like consistency that can be used to thicken and flavor. Reduce a stock long enough and you get a glace… which is more like a paste of highly concentrated flavor. Broths don’t have gelatin, and as such can’t be reduced to a glace.
So, how to make a stock:
Chicken Stock Recipe
Ratio: 3:2:1
3 parts water
2 parts bones
1 parts poix
How much of each will have to peg off how much chicken bones you have. Generally, two chicken carcasses = about 2 pounds. So let’s say:
2 chicken carcases (2 pounds)
6 cups of water (3 pounds)
2 cups poix (1 pound)
Additional ingredients will include:
1 apple, quarted
Half head garlic
thyme/parsley stems/bay leaf tied together
1 T black peppercorns
Step 1: Process Bones
Stock should be clear, not cloudy. One step to ensure a clear stock is to purge the chicken of blood. There are different options for this:
Purge: Cover the chicken in a bunch of salt and cover it with steaming hot water. 10-30 minutes. Then rinse
Brine: Let chicken sit in salted cold water overnight.
Roast: rub a few tablespoons of tomato paste on the raw carcass and roast it until browned.
(note on roasting: roasting will reduce the amount of gelatin available in the stock. So if using roasted carcasses, throw in a few raw chicken pieces… unused chicken wings work best)
Once the bones are processed, cover with cold water and bring it to a simmer. Not a boil… a simmer. As it comes close to a boil, the chicken will shed what can only be described as a foamy scum. Skim this off (the technical term for this is “depouillage”) using a fine mesh skimmer or a spoon.
Now add your poix, the apples, garlic, peppercorns and the thyme/parsley/bay. This will cool off the liquid and stop the simmer. Wait for the water to just barely start bubbling again and then turn it down. It should steam and be warm, but just below the point where water surface bubbles (about 190).
Don’t stir the pot. Don’t let the water get agitated. Both will cause the stock to get cloudy.
Let it be for about 4 hours. Done right it really shouldn’t reduce at all. The warm water is just extracting the flavor and gelatin from the chicken and nothing more.
After four hours, strain it twice (either two times in a row or through two separate strainers at the same time, depending on your gear). Get all the sediment and such out. Then store.
Beef Stock
The process is much the same for beef stock, only the simmer time is 24 hours, which is why I even still buy beef broth at stores. Between the time involved and the fact that I don’t eat nearly enough meat to compile 2 pounds of bones, it’s just reality.
Another great shortcut is buying demiglace, which as noted earlier is just hyper-reduced beef stock concentrating the gelatin into a paste. Just add that paste to different sauces, braises, stews and you’ll have a magnificent flavor bomb. (I add it to bolognese sauce to give it an extra silky texture).
Fish Stock
The big difference here is that you can only use raw fish bones/pieces. Not cooked like w/ chicken. Only needs about 2 hours of simmering time. Technically called a “Fumet.”
Vegetable Stock
We haven’t learned that yet.
Notes
DON’T add salt. A salted stock will affect how things cooked in it turn out. For instance, simmering lentils in a salted stock will result in mushy lentils. Add the salt to the dish while cooking (just like using unsalted butter).
“Stock is not a trash can” said chef, so don’t just add whatever you have laying around. It’s great for scrapes, but only specific scraps (onions, carrots, celery). Remove the paper from the onions. Don’t use the bitter carrot peels. Remember you’re developing flavor, so be mindful of what you put in the pot.
Strain the stock every time you change containers.
Stock will last about 10 days in fridge. To extent life, boil it and restrain to a new container to kill any bacteria.
Leave the fat layer on top. This is both flavor, and protects/preserves the stock.
I’m sure you’re dying to know… what was I doing wrong all these years making stock?
Boiling it
Stirring it
Salting it
Not processing the bones
Make stock! It’s the “fond de la cuisine” … the foundation upon all else rests. It’s what sets cooks apart. I promise… you’ll notice the difference.