Cooking: Stock

Since I am doing Freezer Week this week, I have been cleaning out my freezer and making stock. Truth be told, most of the stuff I throw into the freezer is there just to make stock. I use the stock to make all kinds of things but mostly soup and sauces.  I am going to take you through my stock making process.


Stock Making


Step 1. 

Collect odds and ends for stock. I keep a bag in the freezer to pop veggie ends and meat bones and scraps into.  I keep separate bags for beef and chicken. When I have one or two bags full I move on to step 2. 



What I put in the Stock Bag:

Bones, skin, pan drippings, extras (chicken necks, gizzards, etc. NO LIVER).
Carrot ends
Onion ends
Tomato stem ends
Celery leaves and ends
Green onion tops and ends
Pepper tops
Garlic ends and skins
Herb stems
Spinach ends
Any other vegetable scraps that don't have a strong aftertaste or turn bitter


What I keep out of the Stock Bag:

Onion peels
Carrot peels
Pork
Vegetables from the Brassica family (Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Collards, Kale, etc)
Livers


Alternatively you can make stock with fresh meat and vegetables. 



Step 2.

Cooking the stock.  Place all the contents of your stock bag(s) in a large soup/stock pot. Still frozen is fine. If your pot looks vegetable poor, feel free to add: an onion (cut in quarters), a carrot or two (broken in half), and a stalk of celery or two (also broken in half). I usually have enough veggie ends and bits to make this unnecessary. Fill the pot with cold water to cover contents by no more than 1 inch. Add several cracks of black pepper. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of white vinegar. Place over high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Only lightly cover the pot at this point. When the pot comes to a boil you can turn down the heat leaving the pot simmering on a low setting. If you wish gently remove any foam from the top of the pot. (This leaves you with a clearer stock. I don't bother). Leave pot to simmer for several hours.


Step 3.

Remove from heat. Strain your stock into another large pot or container. Place your container of stock into a sink of cold water to cool for 10-20 minutes.  Pour stock into storage containers.  I use 1 quart yogurt tubs. Label each one with the type of stock and the date. Place into the refrigerator to cool completely. Move to the freezer when cold. The bones and cooked ends left in the pot can now be (in ascending order of extremity) either thrown away, composted or added to and run through the process a second time. I add more pepper, an onion, a carrot, a stalk of celery, a splash of vinegar and cover with water again.  Then I repeat steps 2 and 3. I never make stock with the same bones more than twice.




This recipe provides me with a rich stock that gels nicely when cooled. Now I am ready to make soup!

Thoughtful Cooking,

Kristin

Tips for the Extreme-Freezer

Hello! I am thinking of starting tip column for Mondays. These tips will not be for everyone, but maybe I can inspire some of you to make your own less (or more, daredevils!) extreme versions of what I do around here.



This week is FREEZER WEEK! So I'm going to post a few things I do to make better use of the freezer.

1. Use your refrigerator as your helper. Cool down foods in the fridge to reduce the strain on the freezer, but also reduce the risk of thawing neighboring foods.

2. Use your freezer to help your fridge. Thaw things in the refrigerator whenever you can. The frozen stuff will reduce your refrigerator's energy use.

3. During the winter use outside! When the temperature is at or below freezing, freeze things outside then transfer them to the freezer. (You can also just cool things outside and move to the fridge.)

4. Make things to freeze when the weather is cold enough to help. When we have a snow storm/ice storm here, it is time for me to make stock.

5. Defrost the freezer during a cold snap. When the weather is frozen outside it is the perfect time to defrost the freezer! Your frozen food will be fine outside while you work.

6. Check your freezer setting, you may not need it to be as high in the winter as the summer. If your house is not completely climate controlled, or if you carefully program your household settings, you can take advantage of the times you let your house stay cooler. (If you break ice cream scoops, your freezer setting is probably a little too high anyway.)

7. You can freeze in glass. I freeze things in glass jars all the time. Just leave lots of headroom and you shouldn't have a problem. If you are nervous to try the first few times, freeze your jar in a plastic bag so if it should break you can just throw the whole thing away and there will be no glass in your freezer.

8. You can freeze anything, but not everything will survive the process in an appetizing state. Things thickened with cornstarch and cream sauces generally don't do well when thawed. Usually the best way to find out is to try. If your leftovers are definitely not going to last until you will get to them, and you have no where else for them to go. Freeze them before you throw them. See if it works! Either way you'll know. (Make a plan to check the next day if you can so you don't leave yourself a frozen boobytrap.)

9.Yeast can survive a really long time in your freezer. If you bake bread at all you can buy bulk yeast and keep it in your freezer. (I will talk more about this on BREAD WEEK).

10. Freeze bones. Yes, that pile of chicken bones left from wing night, pop them in a bag and put them in the freezer. This is the "Stock bag". I do not mix meats but I do also throw vegetable ends in the bag with the bones. From there stock making is an easy and happy thing.
(I will give you my recipe/process soon.)




Guess what! It's snowing outside right now, so there is freezer cleaning and stock making on my agenda.

Thoughtfully,
Kristin