STOCK RECIPES

The difference between brown stock and white stock is that the bones and mirepoix are browned for the brown stock.

After your mirepoix is cut and the bones are rinsed and blanched or roasted off, and every ingredient is ready and in place (mise en place); the stock should be ready to easily put together, and set on the back burner to cook.

The following proportion charts are very basic guidelines, they have been adapted throughout most cultures, and nearly every chef will have some variation…

White Stock (Including Chicken Stock)

To Make: One Gallon:

Bones Mirepoix Water Sachet 5 – 6 # 1 # 5 – 6 qt. 1

Brown Stock

To Make: One Gallon:

Bones 5 – 6 # Mirepoix 1 # Water 5 – 6 qt. Sachet 1 Tomato product 8 – 9 oz.

Fish Stock (Fumet)

To Make: One Gallon:

Bones 5 – 6 # Mirepoix 1 # Water (included a 5 – 6 qt. ½ lemon squeezed) Sachet 1 White Wine 8 – 9 oz.

Many chefs will often use ratios to help them remember basic proportions and scale certain recipes to appropriate yields.

With Stocks, I pretty much use a ratio of 2 to 1 on the water to bones issue. In other words, if we thought of the water as 100% of our stock pot, we would fill it 40% with bones, 50% water and 10% with mirepoix. Again, every chef will have some variation…

Please use the following recipes as guidelines, be creative and expand on them; use your own flare, and style their flavors around what YOU want the final product to taste like.

This is a basic recipe for a classic chicken stock, but Chefs will often use the term white stocks as in contrast to brown, or fumet. With this recipe, basically any cleaned, blanched bones will work, depending on your desired end result (chicken, veal, beef, lamb, turkey, or ham).

Many proteins dissolve in cold water, but when heated, they will form a solid mass or solidify into small particles, like a froth of scum. It is these particles that will make a stock cloudy and often taste bitter. The purpose of blanching the bones is to help rid them of some of these impurities.

WHITE STOCK RECIPE

Yield: 2 gal

10 - 12 # bones

In this case Chicken bones Rinsed well and put in a stock pot to be blanched. Fill the pot of bones with cold water bring to a boil, drain and rinse.

Return the bones to a cleaned stock pot.

10 – 12 qt. water Cover with cold water and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and skim away all the scummy, coagulated meat proteins and fats that arise to the surface.

Do not let the stock boil rapidly, but rather just simmer slowly, to draw out the flavors deep inside the bones; it is a slow process, not to be rushed. When the top is clear of all floating scum add the mirepoix and sachet.

Mirepoix: 1 # Onion, chopped 8 oz. Carrot, chopped 8 oz. Celery, chopped Herb Sachet 8 Parsley stems, chopped ½ tsp. Thyme, dried 2 Bay Leaves ¼ tsp. Pepper Corns 2 Whole cloves

Cut a square of cheesecloth 4 in. X 4 in. Place all ingredients in the center, wrap it in the shape of a pouch, and tie with a piece of string. Since it is going to be strained through a china cap, sometimes I like adding some fresh herbs too, like parsley, thyme, or marjoram.

Simmer for the required length of time, skimming the surface as often as necessary. Be sure to allow plenty of cooking time:

Chicken and Turkey 3 – 4 hours Beef and Veal 6 – 8 hours Add water when necessary to keep bones covered. Strain through a China Cap lined with several layers of cheesecloth. Chill the stock as quickly as possible (I prefer Ice-wands), the stock keeps refrigerated fresh for up to 4 days; or freeze in small blocks, or Ziploc baggies, to be used later in smaller portions.

Making Robust Stocks & Broths Beef Stock

Before you can make any quality sauce you must first start with a quality broth or stock. Here we’ll discuss procedures and techniques for making quality, robust, flavorful Brown Beef Stock. Depending on how the stock is to be used, will determine the style of brown stock to make. If your final product is a rich brown sauce or Demiglaze, you’ll need to add a bottle or two of red wine, and cook items longer in order to develop a deep, well-roasted flavor. Or if your final product is for a soup, I would not add the wine or roast items too much, the broth could develop a bitter flavor, and there will be more time later, to develop flavorings and seasonings, as you add to the pot, other soup ingredients.

BROWN BEEF STOCK RECIPE:

Yield: 2 gal 10 - 12 lb Beef shank bones – cut in to 3 –4 in. pieces, washed well 10 – 12 qt. cold water Mirepoix – washed & chopped 1 lb onion, 8 oz. carrots, 8 oz. celery Tomato paste 1 ½ cup Herb Sachet: 8 Parsley stems, chopped ½ tsp. Thyme, dried 2 Bay Leaves ¼ tsp. Pepper Corns 2 Whole cloves

Cut a square of cheesecloth 4 in. X 4 in. Place all ingredients in the center, wrap it in the shape of a pouch, and tie with a piece of string.

In two different roasting pans, brown the bones, the tomato paste and vegetables in the oven. Cook in oven at 400 till dark brown, not burned, but very dark, slow roasted brown. Depending on the amount of bones you are roasting you will have to adjust the temperature of the oven the amount of time in the oven. You’ll want to get the flavor from deep inside the bones, the Mirepoix should be taken out also when well roasted, but not burned. Take out of the oven and let cool.

Put the roasted bones in a stockpot on the stove, be sure to scrape all the browned meat matter and fat from the bottom of the pan, cover with water and bring to a boil, and when at temperature reduce flame to a heavy simmer. With a wide-cupped ladle, skim off whatever floats to the top of the surface; this will take almost constant attention and a lot of skimming. Whatever floats to the top is garbage, mostly coagulated blood and proteins…Throw it away, be sure to get it all, as it will simmer to the top, and if not removed will make your stocks and broths cloudy in color and bitter in flavor.

After the stock looks like it is free of scum and debris, about 20 minutes at high simmer, add the roasted tomato paste and mirepoix to the stockpot and stir it together.

Skim the scum as necessary, throughout the whole cooking process; this keeps stock from becoming cloudy and bitter... Add the herb sachet bundle and reduce on a low-steady simmer. Cook for several hours, and for the deep, intense flavors, cook it all night uncovered on a low, low, low barely simmering temperature.

After you have a well-rounded-flavorful stock, you can begin making and building your different soups and sauces.

This is a good recipe to use for a basic brown sauce which is rich in flavor, but not too strong with any predominate flavor; keep it simple, we may need to use it in many different ways and different styles of cooking; so Brown Stock shouldn’t have very intense flavors, but rather a well-developed beef flavor.

FUMET (FISH STOCK)

Yield: 1 gal

In a heavy stock pot add: 1 oz. butter 5 oz. Onion, chopped fine 2 oz Celery, chopped fine 2 oz Carrot, chopped fine 2 oz Mushroom trimmings

Sweat the vegetables, over medium heat till soft and aromatic, be careful not to brown them, just cook until flavors start developing.

When it’s very hot, add: 8 – 10 oz dry white wine 1 gal cold water The juice from a half a lemon 4 – 6 lb bones from a lean fish

Herb Sachet 8 Parsley stems, chopped 1 Bay Leaf ¼ tsp. Pepper Corns

Cut a square of cheesecloth 4 in. X 4 in. Place all ingredients in the center, wrap it in the shape of a pouch, and tie with a piece of string. Since it is going to be strained through a china cap, sometimes I like adding some fresh herbs too, like parsley, thyme, or marjoram. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and skim the surface as often as necessary. Let simmer 30 – 40 minutes, strain through a China Cap lined with cheesecloth, chill as quickly as possible, and keeps fresh refrigerated for up to 2 days, or freeze…

Soups

After the basic stock is prepared and flavors are fully developed, we can start creating all the different soups and sauces we would like to make using the enriched stock as its base. For your end product to be a quality soup or sauce one must first start with a quality stock.

One criterion I use to judge the quality of a restaurant’s cuisine is by tasting the quality of their soups. It is a very important course in the meal and often sets the tone and standards of the other courses to follow.

Soups are as culturally diverse, as they are versatile in their use. Soup may be served as a palate cleaner or simple concentrated broth for multiple course meals; also as a light first course before the main entrée. A hearty stew is often a full meal within itself, even ice-chilled as a fruit soup or appetizer gazpacho style.

Soup, according to the dictionary is a liquid food derived from meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables. The definition is all right, as far as it goes, but definitions aren’t rules, so don’t be too surprised if you read other books of chefs who use terms differently, or approach food with different styles. What matters most is that you learn the techniques and are able to adapt them to many uses and create a versatile repertoire of your own.

Soups can basically be classified as either unthickened, thickened, or specialty soups. The Clear Soups are generally unthickened; like a classic vegetable soup, broth, bouillon, or Consommé.

The thickened soups have more body to them. They have been thickened by adding some type of thickening agent such as a roux, slurry, even rice or potatoes, or pureeing one or more of the ingredients to provide a heavier consistency. The Thick Soups are

usually classified as Cream Soups, Purees, Legumes, Bisques, or Chowders.

The Specialty Soups is a catch-all category, which includes soups that don’t seem to fit well into the main categories; these soups are often native or particular to certain countries or regions; for instance, New Orleans style Gumbo, or Tom Ka Kai (Thai coconut chicken soup)