A Stock is a clear, thin liquid flavored by vegetables, seasoning, meat, poultry, fish and their bones, which have the ability to dissolve their flavor and essence into the liquid.
The Basic Ingredients For A Stock:
BONES
Minus the water, bones are the most important part of stocks. Most of the flavor and body of stocks come from the bones of beef, veal, chicken, fish, lamp, pork, ham, and game. Vegetable stocks get their flavor entirely from vegetables. The kinds of bones used to make the kind of stock are:
- Chicken Stock made from chicken bones.
- White Stock made from beef or veal bones or a combination of the two. Chicken bones or pork bones are sometimes added in small quantity.
- Fish Stock made from fish bones and trimmings left over after filleting. Bones from lean white fish give the best stock. Fat fish are not normally used.
- Brown Stock made from beef or veal bones that have been browned in an oven.
When certain connective tissues called collagen break down they form gelatin, and this gives body to a stock. A well made stock thickens or even becomes solid when chilled. The cartilage is the best source of gelatin in bones. Younger animals have more cartilage in their skeletons, but when they get older it hardens into a solid bone and makes it harder to dissolve in stocks. So major bones or joints within an animal that have a lot of cartilage are the best bones to use in any stock you are making. A valuable tip when making stock is to cut the bones into pieces; this exposes more surface area and helps the stock to extract the most flavors out of the bones. The end result of a stock is only as good as the ingredients that go in it, so with that said be sure you rinse bones off well before using them in your stock.
MEAT
Meat is rarely used in making stock, because of how much it costs to buy meat. You want to use leftover bones and parts that normally wouldn’t find its way on your plate. An exception though would be chicken hearts and gizzards; they make rich flavorful chicken stock. You can make a broth by simmering meat or poultry, and that is exactly what a broth is a flavorful liquid obtained from the simmering of meats and vegetables. This broth can be used like a stock.
MIREPOIX
Second most important ingredient to making a proper stock are vegetables that give flavor and a wonderful aroma to the stock. Mirepoix is a combination of onions, carrots, and celery. It is one of the most basic flavoring combinations in all areas of cooking including stocks, sauces, soups, meats, poultry, fish, and vegetables.
Basic Prep For A Mirepoix:
Onions-8oz 200g Celery-4oz 100g Carrots-4oz 100g
This will make you about 1pound 400grams.
The vegetables don’t need to be cut neatly or fancy, chop them coarsely into pieces, but keep them around the same size. If you will be cooking a stock for a long time, like a beef stock, cut the vegetables into large pieces. Cut them in small pieces if you will be cooking a stock for a short time, like a fish stock, and just want to release the flavors in a short time.
If your are making a white mirepoix substitute the carrots for mushrooms to keep the stock as white as possible. You can also substitute onions for leeks they give nice flavor.
Acid Products
Acids help dissolve connective tissues, so they can be used in making stock to extract the flavor and body from bones. Tomato products contribute flavor and some acid to brown stocks. Don’t use too much tomato with a brown stock, because it will make the stock cloudy and never use any tomato for a white stock if you are trying to keep the stock as colorless as possible.
Seasoning And Spices
Salt is usually not added when making stock. A stocks is never used as is, they are reduced, concentrated, and combined with other ingredients. But that doesn’t mean you can’t add a little salt to your stock. Only you know what you are trying to accomplish when you make a stock, the judgment is yours. Herbs and spices should also be used lightly in a stock; they should never dominate a stock. You can tie herbs and spices in a cheesecloth bag called a sachet. An assortment of fresh herbs and other aromatic ingredients tied in a bundle with string called a bouquet garni can also be used in a stock. A bouque garni contains pieces of leek and celery, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and parsley stems. The ingredients can be changed for different recipes.
Thyme, Bay Leaves, Peppercorns, Parsley Stems, Whole Cloves, Garlic are a few seasonings that are commonly used in a stock.
To make a Sachet: Place the spices and herbs in the center of a square of clean cheesecloth. Draw the corners together and tie with a length of string. When using in a stock, use a piece of the string long enough to be tied to the handle of the stockpot for easy removal.
To make a bouqet garni: Tie herbs and aromatic vegetables for a bouqet garni in a bundle. To tie small herbs securely, enclose them between the two halves of leeks or celery, which ever you prefer.
Basic Ingredient Proportion For A Stock:
Bones:50% MirePoix:10% Water:100%
White Stock(including chicken stock)
Makes: 1gallon 4liters
Bones: 5-6lb MirePoix: 1lb Water: 5-6qt Sachet:1
Brown Stock
Bones: 5-6lb Mirepoix: 1lb Tomato Product: 8oz Water: 5-6qt Sachet: 1
Fish Stock
Bones: 4-6lb Mirepoix: 8oz Water: 1gal White Wine: 8fl oz Sachet: 1
Vegetable Stock
The basic ingredients for a vegetable stock are vegetables, herbs, and spices, water, and sometimes wine. If you want a vegetable stock that tastes like broccoli, use a large quantity of broccoli in a stock. Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and squash make a stock cloudy. Use them only if clarity in the stock is not important. Some vegetables like strong-flavored vegetables are best avoided. Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and artichokes can overwhelm a stock with a strong flavor or odor. Dark green leafy vegetables, especially spinach, develop an unpleasant flavor when cooked for a long time and beets will turn a stock red. Cook long enough to extract flavors but not so long that flavors are lost. The best cooking times are 30 to 45 minutes. Sweating vegetables in a small amount of oil before adding water gives them a mellow flavor. Butter can be used if it is not necessary to avoid all animal products.
Blanching Bones For A Stock:
The purpose of blanching bones for a stock is to get rid of some of the impurities in the bones that can cause cloudiness. The bones of young animals, especially veal and chicken, are highest in blood and other impurities that cloud and discolor a stock. Fish bones are not blanched because of their short cooking time.
This Is How You Properly Blanch Bones:
- Rinse bones in cold water.
- Place bones in a stockpot or steam-jacketed kettle and cover with cold water. Impurities dissolve more readily in cold water.
- Bring the water to a boil. As the water heats, impurities solidify and rise to the surface as scum.
- Drain the bones and rinse them well. Now you are ready to add them to the stock.
How To Prepare A White Stock Properly:
- Cut the bones into pieces, 3to4 inches long.
- Rinse the bones in cold water.
- Place bones in a stockpot or steam-jacketed kettle and add cold water to cover.
- Bring water to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Skim the scum that comes to the surface, using a skimmer or a slotted spoon.
- Add the chopped mirepoix and the herbs and spices
- Do not let the stock boil. Keep it at a low simmer.
- Skim the surface as often as necessary during cooking.
- Keep the water level above the bones. Add more water if the stock reduces below this level. (bones cooked while exposed to air will turn dark and darken or discolor the stock and also the y do not release flavor into the water if the water doesn’t touch them.)
- Simmer for recommended length of time: Beef and veal bones-6to8hours, Chicken bones-3to4hours, Fish bones-30to45minutes
- Skim the surface and strain off the stock through a china cap lined with several layers of cheesecloth.
- Cool the stock as quickly as possible: Set the pot in a sink making sure the top of the pot is above the top of the sink, Run cold water into the sink but no higher than the level of the stock, Stir the pot occasionally so all the stock cools evenly. Its important to cool stocks properly or else the stock can spoil in 6to8hours.
- When cool, refrigerate the stock in covered containers. Stock will keep 2to3 days if properly refrigerated. Stock can also be frozen and will keep for several months.
How To Prepare A Brown Stock Properly:
- Cut the bones into 3to4 inches. (veal or beef bones)
- Do not wash or blanch the bones. Because clarity is not an issue in this stock.
- Place bones in a roasting pan in one layer and brown in a hot oven at 375degreesF or higher. The bones must be well browned to color the stock. This can take up to an hour. You can also oil the bones lightly before browning.
- When the bones brown well enough, remove them from the pan and place them in a stock pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a simmer.
- Drain and reserve the fat from the roasting pan. Deglaze the pan by adding water and stirring over heat until all the brown drippings are dissolved or loosened. Add to stock pot.
- While stock is getting started, place the mirepoix in the roasting pan with some of the reserved fat and brown the vegetables well in the oven.
- When the water in the stock pot comes to a simmer, skim the scum and continue cooking the stock.
- Add the browned vegetables and the tomato product to the stock.
- Repeat the last seven steps for the white stock.
REDUCTION AND GLAZES
A stock is concentrated by boiling or simmering them to evaporate part of the water, when you do this it is referred to as a reduction. A reduction is an important technique in sauce making and making a stock, it produces a more flavorful product by concentrating it. A reduced stock also has more body because the gelatin is concentrated.
A stock that is reduced until it coats the back of a spoon is a glaze. It is concentrated so much that it is solid and rubbery when refrigerated. It is reduced to about three-fourths or more. Glazes are used as flavorings in sauce-making and in some meat, poultry, fish, and vegetable preparations. Only small amounts are need since they are so concentrated.
Different Kinds Of Glazes:
- Meat glaze made from brown stock.
- Chicken glaze, made from chicken stock.
- Fish glaze, made from fish stock.
How To Prepare A Glaze Properly:
- Reduce the stock over moderate heat.
- Skim the surface frequently.
- When reduced by half to two-thirds, strain into a smaller, heavy saucepan and continue to reduce over lower heat until it is syrupy and coats a spoon.
- Pour into containers, cool, cover, and refrigerate.
- Glazes will keep for several weeks or longer if stored properly. They can also be frozen.
BASES
If you feel making a stock from scratch is a tough or long process don’t worry there is an alternative to making a stock from scratch. Bases are concentrated convenient product. They are mixed with water to make flavored liquids similar to stocks. Bases are different by quality. The best ones are composed mainly of meat extracts. You can also add bases to stocks if there is only a small quantity of stock on hand or if the stock is weak and you want to give them more flavor.