MAKING STOCKS
recipe by Chef Mariann
For a basic stock, you will need:
a large pot or dutch oven with a lid
water – 12 cups/3 quarts
celery – a full head
onion – one large or two medium
carrots – 6/8
other vegetable options – garlic, fennel, parsnips, leeks, shallots
fresh thyme and parsley – 6/8 stalks of each
bay leaves (2)
peppercorns (6)
To the soup pot, on low heat, add the water.
Rinse and trim all vegetables to remove any sandy parts or damaged parts……
Remove the bottom of the head of celery and discard.
Trim the stalks of any damaged parts – rough chop the stalks, include the leaves and add to the pot.
Trim the tops from the carrots, discard or save for other uses – scrub them clean, rough chop the carrots, add to the pot.
Remove the skin from the onion, rough chop, add to the pot.
Add the herbs to the pot.
Cover the pot and allow the stock to simmer about an hour to an hour and a half. Vegetables will be tender and limp when done.
When done: remove the solids from the pot. *Strain the hot stock into separate containers to allow it to cool before storing in the fridge or freezer. I freeze in quart size containers. If you like you can freeze in cup size or even ice cube trays for smaller recipe uses.
*NOTE: You should be storing the stock in the fridge within two hours of taking it off the heat. I ladle it into separate 6 cup glass baking dishes to allow it to cool faster.
When I want a protein based stock I will add to the pot, along with the vegetables, the remains of a couple of roasted chickens, or a ham bone, or beef soup bones that I get from the butcher and roast to use in the stock. I save the chicken bones after roasting whole chickens and reserving the meat for other dishes. The bones are bagged and frozen for use when I am ready to make a stock. This recipe could use two reserved chickens or a single ham bone from a 12 lb. ham or 5-6 beef soup bones.
Increase the simmering time to 2-3 hours or more for the protein based stocks – the longer you can simmer them – some chefs simmer them for 24 plus hours – the better for flavor and nutrient values.