|
Homemade general purpose stock
What:
A "soup-bone", beef or veal - get it very, very cheaply at the butcher's
And/or, a chicken carcass, or chicken bones collected and frozen (to "save up" until you have enough)
Scraps of meat (collect and save up when there is any - not too much pork)
Vegetables, cut in large chunks:
- onion
- root celery (or leaf celery if that's what you're used to)
- mushrooms
- carrots
I think these would be the essentials for an all-purpose stock
...and an easy/cheap way is to collect and freeze whenever you've got a bits left over or a carrot that won't keep much longer - also a good use for mushroom stalks
- carrots
A few spices such as few whole all-spice berries, bay leaf, pepper - anything else you could think off that would work.
How:
Heat some/a generous amount of neutral oil or - even better, clarified butter (as it won't burn easily) on a heavy frying pan (by that I meant cast iron if possible) and brown the vegetables well (very important for taste). You may brown the meat and bones a little as well.
Dump everything in a large pot or slow cooker and add hot water. Bring to almost simmer on stove (or turn on the slow cooker on). Let it stand for 6-8 hours. Remember, no boiling.
When it's done, remove bone, meat and vegetables, and run it through a fine-meshed sieve once or twice. Taste. If it's weak you need to reduce it (if you haven't browned the vegtables it will be weak). When it's all right, add salt to taste.
Freeze in a portion-size that fits your cooking. I prefer ice-cube-size.
Use whenever you want an extra good gravy or brown sauce. And yes, this is more bother than stock-cubes or granules or concentrate (which I also use), but the result is so much worth it, and the work is not all that great in total.
|