Taking Stock

Spent all day Saturday making stock...

Click the read more for way too many pictures and the full post...gear up, it's going to be a long post, dial-up not friendly, get with 2008.

So, fall is upon us and since Laurie and I love soups so much, we figured we'd spend a day making stock and freezing it. Some of our favorite soups are French Onion, Tomato Basil, Pasta Fagioli...and we make a great turkey chili. Not to mention, risotto with boxed stock is a little too salty. Well, we are all ready for fall.

First, I have to say, it pays to have an Asian grocery near you. I picked up some "good" stock parts for pretty cheap. Things you just "don't find" at the regular grocer.

Let's start with the beef stock since that's what's going to take the longest. I followed the recipe from the CIA bootcamp cookbook, and some advice from Boar D. Laze. My only real change was adding the mirepoix after the first hour, not just putting it in for the last.









rinsed all the meat, and put in a pre-heated (at 425) canola oil coated roasting pan. For 15 minutes, then 325 for about 40 minutes...




in the mean time, I took out my dutch oven and browned the mirepoix in some canola oil, then added some tomato paste and browned(rusted)






Also stopped for a lunch break somewhere in there...Laurie made a good capicola (hot), salami and ham sandwich for me.


I turned the meat/bones a couple of times in that 40 minutes....now it's done.


put it in a pot with cold water, and bring it to a lllooww simmer slowly (takes longer than you'd expect) skimming off the fat.


In the meantime, I did my chicken stock.

Again, thank god for the Hong Kong Supermarket...1$ each for chicken carcases (with necks) and some chicken feet. rinsed well.







and in a pot of cold water...brought to a boil slowly, while skimming the top. At the advice of Boar D. Laze, I did not add the mirepoix and sachet of herb to the pot until after the first 45 minutes or so.


also, since chicken stock is much easier to make, I opted to make more beef stock (i have 2 big stock pots, one bigger than the other)



after a while I added the mirepoix to both and let them low simmer....for the chicken about 4-5 and the beef 8-9


in the mean time I made some braised pork belly not worth really blogging about but I'll post a picture or two. I stole the recipe from Jean-Georges Asian cookbook.






back on the ranch....the chicken stock was done first...ice bath and a pot in the sink, and strained into the pot. You need to cool it down as quick as possible.
then I put i the fridge overnight....

about 10pm, the beef stock was also done...


sweet. In the fridge you go, and tomorrow you get jarred!

So after a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs...I pulled the stock from the fridge expecting lots of fat. On the chicken, not so much. Probably due to my constant skimming.







Yielded ~5 quarts. I'll tell you how much I spent total a little later.

The beef stock had a nice layer of fat...






and the money shot!


Yielded ~9 quarts of beef stock.

Made some room in the freezer and now I'm "stocked" up. Total cost was around 35$...and I yielded roughly 14 quarts...which turns into 2.50 quart which is what you can expect to pay at the store, but...it's home made. I didn't do it to save money. I also bought stock material that was a little expensive that I probably could have saved in the freezer from leftovers from previous dishes(chicken carcasses, beef bones, etc)...but I never do.