How to Make Homemade Stock
Homemade stock turns leftover bones and vegetable trimmings into the base for soups, risottos, gravies and sauces. It takes very little hands-on time and tastes better than most cubes.
What you need
- Bones or scraps: a roast chicken carcass, raw chicken wings, beef bones, or a bag of vegetable trimmings.
- Aromatics: onion, carrot and celery are the classic trio. Onion skins add colour.
- Seasoning: a bay leaf, a few peppercorns and parsley stalks. Leave out salt so you can season the final dish instead.
Save scraps in the freezer
Keep a bag in the freezer and add onion ends, carrot peelings, celery tops, leek greens, mushroom stalks and herb stalks as you cook. When it is full, it is time to make stock. Avoid strongly flavoured vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli, which can make stock taste bitter, and starchy potatoes, which make it cloudy.
Basic chicken stock
- Put a chicken carcass in a large pot with a roughly chopped onion, carrot and celery stick, a bay leaf and some peppercorns.
- Cover with cold water by a few centimetres.
- Bring slowly to a gentle simmer and skim off any foam that rises.
- Simmer very gently, uncovered or partly covered, for two to three hours. Do not let it boil hard or it will turn cloudy and greasy.
- Strain through a sieve and discard the solids.
Vegetable stock
Vegetable stock is quicker: about 45 minutes to an hour of simmering is enough. Longer cooking does not add much flavour and can make it taste stewed.
Richer, darker stock
For a deeper flavour, roast the bones and vegetables in a hot oven until well browned before simmering. This is the usual approach for beef stock and makes excellent gravy.
Cool, store and freeze
Cool the stock quickly, ideally by dividing it into smaller containers, then refrigerate. Once chilled, any fat sets on top and can be lifted off. Use refrigerated stock within a few days, or freeze it in portions. Freezing some in ice-cube trays gives small amounts for pan sauces.
Ways to use it
Use stock as the base for soups, cook rice or grains in it, add it to stews and risottos, or reduce it with pan juices for a quick sauce. For recipes that make the most of homemade stock, visit relishrealm.com.