Stock Tidbits
tips from a variety of sources & experience and photography by Talitha Schroeder
Our January Pantry Challenge taught us the value of using up every scrap and making stock is a great way to do so. At Holly Hill Inn, a giant stock pot simmers all night long and its savory aromas greet us first thing in the morning.
Start on stove with cold water - allows impurities/protein bits to slowly come out and be skimmed off
Don’t use raw & cooked bones in same pot
Never salt at the beginning but whole peppercorns are a great addition
Avoid starchy veg (clouds it), green onion and cabbage (they sour the stock) and brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi)
Ratio– 1 cup protein : 1 cup water or 1# protein : 1 qt water
Search your crisper drawer for hidden treasures – bits of yellow or white onions, leeks, carrot tips or ends, celery stalks and leaves, fennel, parsley stems, thyme branches, garlic, tomato peels and scraps
Go exotic – a small knob of ginger, a piece of star anise, cloves, half a cinnamon stick – add any of these for the last few minutes of its time on the stove (except for cloves which can go in anytime.)
If you’ve browned your bones and veggies in a hot oven first, swish a bit of water around in the roasting pan to scrape up any good browned bits that are reluctant to come out on their own, then use that water as part of your liquid.
Use a burner smaller than the base of your stock pot for maintaining a steady simmer
Beef – Roast bones til brown OR blanch in boiling water for 5 mins (drain/throw out water) then into fresh cold water
Chicken – Rotisserie carcass OR roast off a raw carcass OR start with raw carcass - either way, break down as small as possible. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Easier to do with cooked carcass.
Adding a bit of cider vinegar (or wine) helps break down the cartilage and other connective tissues in bones, making for a richer, more nutritious stock. Try white wine or white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar with chicken, veal and pork; and red wine, red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar with beef, lamb or venison. A couple of tablespoons up to half a cup depending on how big your pot is.
You’ll know it’s done when the vegetables have given up all their flavor and the stock tastes like light broth.
Strain your stock and cool to room temperature, then pour into as many mason jars or containers as needed and refrigerate overnight before using. It will last a few days in the refrigerator or happily hang out in the freezer until you’re ready for it.
When your stock is made, don’t discard the fat (aka dripping)! Save it for using the same way you’d use any other fat – for spreading, sautéing, roasting and generally adding extra flavor wherever you need it.
If you’ve never cooked with pastured, locally-raised meats, you’ll be amazed at the difference in flavor and body, especially once your stock has chilled and you can see the thickening power of the gelatin in the bones you used. Local meat is expensive though, and not all of us can afford it on a regular basis. Bones are a little easier on the wallet so we made a list of what they cost from some local sources in Central Kentucky, as of March 2023.
Soup bones from Marksbury Farm, $2.49/lb at Good Foods Market
Oxtail from Marksbury Farm, $6.29/lb at Good Foods Market
Beef shank from Marksbury Farm, $6.99/lb at Good Foods Market
Local chicken frames, $2.99/lb at Good Foods Market
Local chicken wings or chicken necks, $2.99/lb at Good Foods Market
Beef soup bones, $4.99/lb from Mefford Family Farm at the Franklin County Farmers Market Beef knuckle bones and chicken frames backs, $3.00/lb from Brenneman & Bucks, available at the farm, delivered to your home, or at the Franklin County Farmers Market (wholesale customers who buy a whole or half beef can also get the bones with their beef cuts)
How to use your beautiful stock:
As a base for soups and stews
Concentrated for sauces
Clarified for consommé
On its own as beef tea or a pick-me-up tonic
For cooking vegetables in; see our bonus recipe.
Dressing salads – a bit of hot broth makes a wonderful “kilt” lettuce salad, especially when the lettuce is a sharp green like dandelion or endive.
*Bonus recipe!
James Beard’s Potatoes Savoyard
Butter your preferred baking dish and preheat oven to 350℉
Layer enough thinly-sliced potatoes in the dish to fill it, salting and peppering each layer as you go.
Scatter bits of butter on the top layer and barely cover with well-flavored broth (beef is traditional, feel free to experiment with others)
Bake for 45 minutes, then check for tenderness; if the potatoes haven’t absorbed most of the broth, pour some of it off and save for another use.
Sprinkle with 1 cup grated cheese (Gruyère is traditional or try Cheddar, or a combination of what you have) and continue baking until the cheese browns and the potatoes are cooked through.
Related Content
Getting By
The Pantry Challenge
In which we rethink our relationship with food and how to make the most of our culinary assets.
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