Homemade Broths/Stock

Hey, what do you know about homemade broths or stocks?  Hopefully after this blog entry, you will know more than you did.  ;)

Broths are made with the meat on the bone.  Once cooked, the meat can be used for various things like casseroles, salads, sandwiches and so much more.

Stocks are made from the bones or carcass of the animal you’re using.  I suggest only chicken or beef as in my experience; pork does NOT make a tasty broth.

CHICKEN BROTH

1 whole 3-4 lb chicken

2 stalks of celery

1 carrot

2 medium tomatoes

1 large onion

1 clove garlic (optional)

1 bunch of parsley

2 bay leaves

4 peppercorns

Tip: Throw in other uncooked vegetables you might have in the refrigerator, that wouldn’t be too strong tasting.  Things like: broccoli, mushrooms, bok choy, bell peppers, green beans, summer squash and zucchini.  Do not use fennel, potatoes of any kind, acorn squash, bean sprouts and cabbage.

If a Mexican broth –use cilantro.  If Italian broth – use rosemary, oregano and thyme.

Leave the chicken whole.  Cut the carrot in three pieces, cut the celery in 3 pieces, cut the onion in half, cut the tomatoes in half, cut the garlic in half, use the whole amount of parsley including stems, the bay leaves and peppercorns and put all into a large stock pot.  Add cold water to fill the pot up to 2 inches before the top. 

Bring the concoction to a boil and drop heat to very low so that it stays at only the slightest simmer.  At this point there will be some foam that rises to the top.  Skim it with a slotted spoon.  Let simmer for an hour and a half while skimming any foam that rises to the top. 

Once done cooking, you’re going to want to take out the chicken using tongs and a large slotted spoon.  Put it to the side to work with the meat later.  You’ll then need another big pot and strainer.  Why?  We need to take the “cooked” liquid and veggies and pour it through the strainer into the other pot.  Before straining, remove the bigger pieces of the vegetables using the spoon and throw them away.  Then take the liquid and pour it through the strainer to remove any left overs, such as the bay leaves and parsley.

Now clean the pot you did the cooking in.  Why?  Unless you have 3 pots, you’re going to need a clean one to do one more straining of the liquid.  Once you have washed the other pot and let the liquid cool down, it’s time for the 2^nd straining.    Then using a large cup/measuring cup take out the broth and put through a fine sieve (mesh strainer) until every last piece of whatever leftover solids, like the peppercorns and tomato seeds are removed from the broth.

Put the broth in the refrigerator and cover lightly with plastic wrap.  Let sit overnight and the next day remove any fat that has risen to the top of the broth.  It should be solid enough to remove with a slotted spoon.

And Voila - you have some beautiful broth to use in recipes or for soup. 

Tip:  If you’re not making soup, it’s wise to put a cup or two into baggies to put in the freezer.  Heck you could also pour into ice trays and let freeze, then put them into baggies for use later.  The broth itself will be fine to leave in the refrigerator for 5 days until you're ready to use for a recipe or soup.

CHICKEN STOCK - Now to make chicken stock follow the exact same recipe as the broth EXCEPT use either cooked or uncooked chicken bones, let it simmer 2 hours and of course throw away the bones when you're done.  You might want to pick off any left-over meat to use for a sandwich in the case of the uncooked chicken bones.  The advantage to stock is that as a by-product of using bones instead of meat you get a more gelatinous or thick stock as opposed to the broth which is thinner. 

BEEF STOCK

From the butcher get 2-3 lbs of beef bones

2 carrots

3 stalks of celery

2 medium onions

2 medium tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of parsley

1 sprig of rosemary

2 sprigs of thyme

3 bay leaves

5 peppercorns

3 Tbsp tomato paste

Vegetable spray

(Follow my advice about vegetables from the Chicken Broth except that fennel here would be fine.)

Take a very large baking pan and spray lightly with vegetable spray.  Arrange beef bones, onions cut in quarters and celery stalks and carrots cut into 3 pieces and tomatoes cut in half and put them all in the pan.  Take the tomato paste and using a spoon or a brush spread some of the paste all over the bones and vegetables except the tomatoes, thinly.  Put in a 350 degree oven and cook for 30 minutes.

Put the rest of the ingredients along with the items just cooked in a large stock pot and fill with cold water up to 2 inches from the top.  Bring to a boil and drop down to a low simmer.  Skim foam from the top.  Let simmer 2 hours.

When it’s done cooking, follow the process like with the Chicken Broth, in removing bones and vegetables, straining and sieving the liquid.  Then place in the refrigerator overnight.  Take off any fat from the top and there you've got yourself some mighty fine stock.

BEEF BROTH

3-4 lb beef butt or shoulder

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

1 large onion

2 medium tomatoes

1 clove garlic

2 bay leaves

1 bunch of parsley

2 bay leaves

4 peppercorns

Follow the same recipe as the chicken broth.  Bring to a boil.  Drop to a bare simmer.  Skim foam.  Let simmer 1 1/2 hours.  Remove beef, discard vegetables.  Put through a strainer and then through a sieve.  Leave in refrigerator overnight and remove the fat from the top the next day.

Beef stock is especially good for stews and broth for soups.  Again the stock will be more gelatinous and thicker and is especially good for recipes like shephard's pie.  It really just depends on how strong you want your flavors to be. 

Broth benefits is that you now have very flavorful meat to use in different recipes.  Like BBQ sandwiches or Tacos!

So, after this, are you still asking why you should make your own broth or stock?  Well let me tell you a few reasons why. 

The broths/stocks you handmade will not only be more flavorful but will be so much better for you as we have not added any sodium or preservatives to it.  Plus you have the advantage of having the vitamins, riboflavins, antioxidants and minerals and all the many positive benefits the vegetables offer.  The canned or boxed broths and stocks at the market are not made with vegetables hence no where near as tasty or beneficial for your health.  Finally this is a good use of old bones and whatever leftover vegetables you have in your refrigerator.

VEGETABLE BROTH – basically follow any one of the above recipes but without the meat and double the vegetables.

Obviously the reason to make vegetable broth is so that you may use it in vegetarian recipes.  The vegetable broth you get at the markets is almost unpalatable!!  This will make any vegetarian dish much tastier!!  And I wouldn't bother making vegetable soup without first making a vegetable broth otherwise it will taste watery!

Tip:  When making some type of meat, it goes down much easier with a sauce.  To make a good sauce you need a good broth or stock.  Saute some onions, mushrooms, garlic or shallots in a Tbls of butter or olive oil.  Add a Tbls of flour and whisk for one minute.  Add a small amount of wine 3 oz (white for chicken or vegetables and red for beef) and whisk and simmer until it is evaporated and add a cup and a half of broth and whisk at a simmer until it thickens, add salt and pepper to taste and there you have a fine sauce for any meal.