by Kal
I've been wanting to make stock for a long time now. I've been saving up bits and bobs of chickens in my freezer, and once Thanksgiving rolled around I was determined to give it a go. Fortunately, Michael Ruhlman figured a lot of people would be in the first-time-stockmaking boat at Thanksgiving and has written this lovely post about why and how to do it.
My stock is currently in the oven. I'll be updating this entry as I go, although I imagine there won't be much for me to say until I've actually cooked with it. Actually, here's what's in my stock:
-Thanksgiving turkey bones, giblets, and drippings
-about two chickens' worth of chicken bones and giblets
When the time comes, I'll add:
-two big carrots, chopped
-three celery ribs, chopped
-one big onion, chopped
-about five big thyme sprigs
Also: 4 cloves of garlic, smashed, and about a tb. of black peppercorns
I've got the bright idea of picking up some cheap ice cube trays to store some of the stock, along with filling up some of those unused jars I've been collecting. For those, I plan to measure out by the cup and label each jar accordingly -- so that when, say, I need two cups of stock, I can just reach in for the two-cup jar.
I've got this to say thus far: it smells really good in here.
2 hours in: I'm fascinated. The stock has gone crystal-clear. I can see all the bones and giblets at the bottom of the pot. Also of note: the bones and giblets are at the bottom of the pot. Many were floating early on. The cats have decided this is some new form of torture I've invented: filling the house with the enticing scent of roast birds when there are none.
5 hours in: I finally threw my oven thermometer in there and found that I'm keeping it closer to 220 than Ruhlman's suggested 180. But it isn't bubbling, and that's the important part. Not much has happened visibly in the past three hours. I'm about to throw all the aromatics in.
Finished: Well, I completely ran away from this post when my stock was done. Bad Food N00b! However, I can attest that the stockmaking went very well. I froze 4 ice cube trays of it and a couple of jars as well, an later on made stuffing with some of the stock and that turned out delightful. (I had no idea that when my mom used to simmer the turkey giblets on Thanksgiving, then use the "giblet water" to moisten up the Stove Top, she was making a bastardized version of stock herself. She would cut up the giblets and put them in the stuffing, too, which I'm sure is part of why I have no problem with organ meat today.)
Overall, this process was a lot easier than I had expected, so much so that it was rather anticlimactic. I do strongly recommend straining the finished product through cloth, however, just as Ruhlman told you. After straining through a colander and achieving what seemed like a relatively smooth stock, I was stunned by what got caught by the cloth -- a whole lot of nasty dreck you definitely wouldn't want in there.
In conclusion: Make your own stock! It's easy and fun and tasty!
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