HOW TO: Make Stock

Stock is one of those widely used ingredients. Sauces, soups, casseroles, all usually use stock for bases. Making your own homemade stock is a great way to control salt, flavor, and use up leftovers.

Every stock starts the same way with water! Depending on your desired stock outcome will depend on your other starting ingredients.

For Chicken, Beef, Pork, or Lamb stock you will want to start with bones and an onion. For a Seafood stock you will want to start with shells, such as crab or lobster and an onion. For vegetable stock you will want to start with celery, carrots, and an onion. As you can see the ingredients are pretty simple and because your making a stock, nothing has to be done to them.

For example lets make a chicken stock together, just remember its the same for all stocks just substitute your protein/vegetable for the chicken.

In a large pot place your chicken bones, I'm using a leftover roaster chicken but any cut will be fine.

Add 8-10 cups of water into the pot based on desired richness of stock. The less water the richer the stock.

Add onion into the pot.

Turn heat to high and bring to boil uncovered.

Allow to boil for 20 minutes.

I like to break up large chunks with tongs after it had been boiling for a while.

While this boils place a colander in a bowl.

Once done, use tongs to fish out large pieces and place in colander.

Gently pour remaining pot contents into colander. Discard any of the bones, onion, large vegetable pieces.

 (hard to photo with steam)

Allow to cool for a few minutes and than remove any excess fat or oils from the top.

Save stock in airtight container for up to two weeks, or can and save for up to six months, or turn into to soup.

This is a basic stock recipe for 4-6 cups stock. Since water will evaporate during boiling you will end up with 2 cups less stock than water. Also, you will notice I don't add seasonings, it is better this way. It allows you the freedom to edit the stock based on your recipe. Enjoy!