Winter is here and it’s time for warm, hearty dishes like
stews, risottos, casseroles and soups.
What all these dishes have in common is that they have as an ingredient
beef, chicken, fish or vegetable stock.
Whilst it may not be the main ingredient, the quality of the stock
greatly affect the final result of these dishes.
There are many options for Stock but neither Campbell nor any other store bough
stock taste like homemade and I find it very unlikely anyone would be using
them in a professional kitchen.
It is amazing the things you find or better, not find, on
stock labels: in a 2009 chicken Stock
review from Choice for example, a whopping 16 out of 25 brands had no animal
products in them – yes, that’s right, 16 out of 25 chicken stocks reviewed didn’t
have any chicken! And I will not even start
talking about enhancers like MSG, artificial flavors, colors and
preservatives.
Not that I don’t use store bought stock in my kitchen, just
like everybody I don’t always have time to make it from scratch. Whenever using the store bought “stuff” I
use liquid ones such as Gravlax or salt reduced Campbell. I am also aware that they ain’t no good
either! Both are reconstituted (water
added) and even the salt reduced Campbell has an absurd amount of sodium (650mg
per 250ml) but at least they have real beef and chicken. By the way, Gluten Free intolerant, Campbell
has Gluten.
There are much better brands like Maggie Beer but frankly, what
housewife would pay 11 dollars for 500ml of Stock?
Point is, making your own homemade stock might be a time
consuming thing but is indeed the cheaper and healthier option. With
a few cheap ingredients you can easily make 3 litres and if you have some extra
space in your freezer, Voila! It freezes
very well and you can have nice homemade stock available at any time for your
culinary adventures.
Today I will be sharing with you my Beef and Chicken Stock
recipes. Feel free to add your own
touch with different herbs and spices.
Beef Stock (About 3l)
1.5Kg of Beef Bones with some nice bit scraps and marrow,
all cut in bits. You can also add some
bacon bones for some “smoky” flavour.
1 Onion peeled and quartered
2 Carrots roughly chopped
1 Leek roughly chopped
3 Celery Stalk roughly chopped
2-3 Garlic Cloves Peeled
3.5 Litres water
1 Tablespoons Tomato extract
1 bouquet garni with:
few fresh rosemary stalks,
thyme springs, fresh oregano stalks and bay leaves.
1 Teaspoon Black
Peppercorns (whole)
3 Cloves
Pre-heat the oven
to 220C.
Put the bones in
a tray large enough to have the vegetables added later.
Roast the bones
for about 40 min, add the carrots, celery, leek, garlic and onion to the
tray. Roast for more 20 min.
Transfer the
caramelized bones and vegetables to a large pot with 3.5 liters of water. Stir in the tomato extract, the bouquet
garni, cloves and the black peppercorns.
Add about half
cup of water to the tray you used to roast the bones and with a wood spoon
scrape all the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Pour the bits and water into the stock pot.
Bring it to boil,
reduce the heat and allow it to simmer, partially covered for about 4 hours. During this time spoon out the fat and any scum that rises to
the surface. 
Strain the
broth. Press the vegetables with the
back of a ladle to make sure all juices are in the stock. Discard the solids.
Put the Stock in the fridge covered with plastic wrap, until the fat has risen to the top and solidified. Remove the solidified fat with a spoon.
Taste the stock;
if it is not too strong reduce it to your liking over medium heat. If you wish add salt - I prefer to leave it
without salt and add salt during the preparation of the dishes.
It lasts up to
three days in the fridge or you can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Chicken Stock (About1.5l)
750g Chicken Carcass with some meat on it (Sunday chicken
leftovers will work just well)
2 Onion peeled and quartered
2 Carrots roughly chopped
3 Celery Stalk roughly choppe
2 Litres water
1 bouquet garni with:
few fresh rosemary stalks,
thyme springs, fresh oregano stalks and bay leaves.
1 Teaspoon Black
Peppercorns (whole)
1 Star Aniseed
(Optional, my special touch)
Put all
ingredients into a large pot.
Bring it to boil,
reduce the heat and allow it to simmer, partially covered for about 3 hours. During this time spoon out the fat and any scum that rises to
the surface.
Strain the
broth. Press the vegetables with the
back of a ladle to make sure all juices are in the stock. Discard the solids.
Put the
Stock in the fridge covered with plastic wrap, until the fat has risen to the
top and solidified. Remove the
solidified fat with a spoon.
Taste the stock;
if it is not too strong reduce it to your liking over medium heat. If you wish add salt - I prefer to leave it
without salt and add salt during the preparation of the dishes.
It lasts up to
three days in the fridge or you can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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