Cooking stock is all about patience. For many years I just through water in a pot of `stuff`and boiled it as hard as it would go and hope for the best. I`ve learned that`s a bit like trying to build a house of cards with a hammer and nails – it`s a little too harsh.
Our stock is started by adding roasted bones (if you choose) and the roasted vegetables (we also put our burned onions into the mix at this point) into the pot and covering with cool water.
The key to a clear, tasty broth is slowly altering the temperature (this is very difficult when preserving because of the volume of liquid you are heating). A cold start allows solids to coagulate in larger pieces which makes a stock easier to skim as it cooks. The solids should gather at the top or on the outsides of the pot.
We bring the pot just to a simmer and leave it for many hours (as long as we can tolerate, at least 5 hours where possible). I try to reduce by at least 10-15% knowing two things:
- The more it is reduced, the more flavor it will have
- Less liquid = less jars. If a stock is too stong (I don`t think there`s such a thing), you can always add water during the cook.
Once the cooking is done, I let it cool before placing it outside overnight (I do this in the pressure cooker so that I can lock the lid and not fear animals pulling up for a snack). The cool aid solidifies the fat and it floats to the surface (the picture above is after he night outside).
The next morning is another skim.
If I have time, I roast more vegetables and bring the skimmed broth, bones and all veggies back to a simmer for about an hour and cool it down again (this doesn`t take overnight – I generally cheat and throw it right outside if I`m not fearful of it becoming a little cloudy though the risk is minimal because most of the fat and solids have been removed).
The final step is to strain the whole thing. I remove the veggies (my friend Chef Rossy has recently informed me that I can save these, puree them and use them to thicken sauces and stocks as they have texture but little flavour), bones and then I begin to ladle the soup through a straining system. I generally use two different sieves (one is wider than the other) inside of each other. It`s important that you don`t pour the stock through this as the force of the water will force fat solids through the mesh and into your final product.
I then bring the pots to a final simmer as I prepare to can the stock…but that`s for our final piece on this topic tomorrow…
This is one part of a three-part series on making and canning stock. You can locate all of the articles here.
Thanks for dissolving the mystery of stock! I will try this with the next roast remains!
I try to do the initial simmer for 24 hours. By that time all the flavor’s out of the ingredients and in the liquid. I strain the stock into gallon jars through a double cheesecloth lined mesh strainer and allow to cool overnight. In the morning I remove the fat cap, pour the stock back into the pot leaving behind any sediment. Then I bring it to a fast simmer and allow it to reduce by half, and strain into jars to cool again. The next day it goes back into the pot (minus any remaining sediment) to heat for canning. I don’t mess with rafts or stirring eggs into it to clear it because it’s just not been that successful for me but I still end up with a pretty clear flavorful stock. http://eatingfloyd.blogspot.com/2010/12/bone-collector.html
you are a mad woman.
I`m going to try 24 hours nxt time – so excited to try!
J
Thanks for all the great tips – my stock is good but not extraordinary. I’ve already tried leaving the onion skins on and did see a difference in the color.
Ready for another go with some beef bones. Never thought about the weight of the liquid & the strainer – I always go for the quickest method. Although, if the meat is well raised I think the fat can be a good thing.
Also never thought about the changing of temps and bringing to a boil a second time.
I have great expectations; thanks again everyone!
Go Team!
Love that we`re all learning together – there has indeed been some grat tips all the way around…wanting to make mor stock.
J
I love making stocks! It’s so wonderful to find others who do as well. Reducing the stock is a must to me, and I’ve found that by putting it in my crockpot (without the lid) on low heat is the easiest way to reduce stock. I doesn’t require much attention at all other than to stir occasionally. I’ve even reduced stock to a near demi glace, though a little more attention is needed to keep it from scorching at that point. So glad Food in Jars posted your link!
THanks and welcome Tugs Girl – glad you came by…we love Food in Jars and Marissa and all she does
welcome aboard, hope you`ll stay a while!
Ok, beef stock finished. Bones & veg roasted first, onions skins on, simmered 24 hours.
I started carefully ladling the first straining, but didn’t have the patience for it and reverted to my slovenly “pour it quickly through the strainer into bowl” method.
Refrigerated overnight, removed fat cap and passed on the second boiling. Made barley risotto with it last night – the stock was really good. Made a big diff in the flavor of the risotto.
From 6 1/2 lbs of bones and 5 quarts of water I ended up with about 5-6 cups of stock. Rich stuff! Thanks again everyone, apparently little things do mean a lot.
[...] is always good to make in colder months (we did a 3 part series: Part 1, Part 2, Part [...]
why why why remove the fat? I just cannot wrap my head around this. I wonder if it’s the soup I’m making with the stock requires the fat and so I can’t grasp this or something more fundamental
[...] Part 2 – Cooking, Cooling, Cooking, Cooling [...]
i remove the fat and save it for other uses. It is NEVER thrown out, oh no no no!!! I like to roast my bones and them scope out the marrow, toast some bread and spread on the marrow (lots of highly monounsaturated fat in the marrow!) then put the bones in the pot.
I am just making it now on the second simmer and I notice the difference! Very rich and lovely stock. Any meat and the carrots will not be wasted and be given to the pooch as she will love it all.
Thanks for the recipe.
Oh and I used your suggestion for leek tops and loved the broth!
Sue
SO glad to hear that it’s going so well Sue – this type of feedback is more appreciated than you can imagine! Thank you so much.
Just out of curiosity: Why the focus on clarity? I’ve literally made thousands of litres of stock (5000+ hours working in a French restaurant), and with the exception of making consume (which is actually made out of broth, not stock, but now I’m getting pedantic), was never all that concerned about clarity. Is it for the sake of clear soups? I suppose it’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of that stock became demi-glace for sauces, so clarity wasn’t really an issue.
Chris,
It’s an awesome question and a total blind spot – was something that was generally emphhasized in reading I did (Herve Thes, Harold McGee) but not why. I would guess it’s traditionally for clear soups, as you have suggested.
However, for me, I far prefer a clear stock in a jar on the shelf than a murky mess – some of my past stocks were a little stomach turning to look at in their clear glass jars.
I’m sure I’ve left this same comment on a previous post… that I suck at making stock somehow… but you’ve almost convinced me to give it another try. Love the suggestion to save the veg to thicken other dishes!! And I’ve strangely never thought to reduce my stock. Perhaps there are many solutions in this post.
I’ll let you know if I have a go at it.
Oh Erin I hope you do – and when you rock it, let us know.
[...] – but not with continuous heat. I’m a big fan of making a stock in cycles – cooking, cooling, cooking, cooling. Once my initial stock was made, I cooled it (I cool large batches in a pressure cooker with a [...]