Home Cooked Stock - The Secret!

Stock 101

If you are a professionally trained chef read no farther as these recipes for stock are not text book. They have been derived from a home cook who is frugal and wastes little.

If you are a home cook wanting the BEST flavors and nutrition for your meals at the best cost read on.

Question are you one of those people who hates to throw away that little piece of leftover chicken so you wrap it in plastic put it into your refrigerator to throw away a week later after it has spoiled? Save the planet, save the plastic, save the guilt toss that piece of chicken directly into your chicken stock bag to bring a new layer of flavor to your dishes.

Making stock at home is super simple, super yummy and better yet FREE. You say you don't have time or the tools to make stock you do; it's simple pick a day you know you will be home most of the day. That is stock day, it takes about 3 minutes to put together, cook it all day then it takes about 5 minutes to package for the freezer. If you need to run out for a minute, (not hours just a couple of minutes) cover it turn it off while you are away and turn it back on when you get back home.

I have so much stock I use stock as the water when boiling pasta's or making rice. The flavor's from the stock really add a new dimension of flavor.

Waste Little

Every kitchen has waste the secret is to use the waste when possible to add flavor to your cooking. I have 5 freezer bags in the freezer: Veggies, Chicken, Beef, Pork & Seafood. Don't throw away them bones! If your having steak cut it from the bone and toss the bone into the beef bag along with any leftover steak scraps. If you bake a chicken toss the leftover carcass into the chicken bag. Onion skins, roots and tops, carrot skins and tops, green onion greens and roots, celery leaves, fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley & chives you get the picture - save them in the Veggie bag! Always wash the vegetables well before peeling and cleaning. Include any vegetable from the refrigerator bin that has just gone past fresh to starting to wilt to the veggie bag. (NOTE: a list of what veggies to add to the stock pot and what may not be so yummy will be posted separately.) Once the bag is full you get to make stock.

Vegetable Stock http://recipesbysuneday.blogspot.com/2012/02/vegetable-stock.html
Chicken Stock http://recipesbysuneday.blogspot.com/2012/02/chicken-stock.html
Beef Stock http://recipesbysuneday.blogspot.com/2012/02/beef-stock.html
Pork Stock http://recipesbysuneday.blogspot.com/2012/02/pork-stock.html
Seafood Stock

TIPS

$ Save big money! Instead of purchasing meats without bones such as a boneless pot roast, boneless and skinless chicken meat, boneless rib eye steak. Purchase the meat with the bone in and remove the bone when you get home. Toss the bones in your meat bag for use in stock later. This is a two for one cost savings winner!

Typically stock will take on a richer flavor and color if the bones used to make the stock are roasted.

Stock purists are going to cringe here but this is what I know to be true to make the best stock. I never just make plain chicken, beef, pork or seafood stock. I just don't see the point. Vegetables are flavor enhancers. Typically I have more vegetables in the freezer for stock than I do any other stock bag. Every batch of stock I make has a full bag of vegetable goodness along with the meat flavors. Yes I do make plain vegetable stock which can substitute for almost any other stock flavor. But veggies are the star secret ingredient in every batch of stock. Yes your stock may take on a bit of color due to the tomatoes or carrots but the flavor outshines the color and usually the color gleaned from stock will not even be a factor to a finished product.

Typically the vegetables & herbs you use for a general stock should be those that enhance flavors such as carrots, onion, scallions, celery, leeks, parsley, chives (refer to whats best in stock). Flavors such as broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus can be too domineering for most stocks unless of course that is the flavor you are trying to achieve.

Strong vegetables like garlic & peppers can be added to your stock if you and your family really like the flavor, just remember it will come out in all other finished dishes. Therefore, you may decide to omit garlic and peppers in your stock to simply add it to a dish you are preparing that requires those flavors.

Don't add salt & pepper to stock. Stock is the base to build your meals upon. Generally it is best to add seasonings to your individual dishes.

Save left over canned tomatoes, vegetable pasta sauces, squash purees in the veggie bag to boost stock flavors.

When straining your stock strain it twice for a clear lovely stock. First time through your colander with a second trip through a fine mesh stainer. You don't have a fine mesh strainer, us triple folded cheese cloth in the colander for the second strain. You don't have cheese cloth use a light weight clean tee towel for the second straining. Discard the strained materials in the trash or compost pile if appropriate (meat items shouldn't usually go into the compost pile)

Cool stock in the refrigerator before packaging to solidify any leftover fat then simply peel off all of the fat to make your stock fat free.

Package your stock in quart freezer bags or canning jars (leave head space if you are using canning jars). The most space efficient is the quart freezer bags. One cup stock to a bag, press out all the air, freeze laying flat. Once frozen you stand on end like storing cd's to maximize freezer space. The less air in the bag the less chance of freezer burn.

Short on freezer space? Reduce your stock way down to 1/4th of what you started with watch it so it doesn't burn. Freeze the stock in ice cube trays, then place frozen cubes in zip bag. When you go to use this stock add 3 cubes of water to 1 cube to make about 1/4 cup of stock.

Always label your stock with stock type and date made, then rotate the stock in your freezer being sure to use the oldest first.

Stock can be made out of turkey but should be labeled as such. Turkey stock is not always interchangeable with chicken stock in some recipes. Typically Turkey stock is used for turkey dishes only.

If frozen stock can last up to a year in the freezer (or longer, I have used some beef stock that was two years old and it was still yummy).