A stock is essentially a flavored liquid and key to making a delicious soup or sauce. Many people will substitute a broth for a stock instead of making their own stock. This can work just fine in many home-made soups and sauces but the final product will lack in texture and flavor compared to using an actual stock.
If you don't have time or don't feel like making your own stock, you can always buy some at the store. There are two downsides to this convenience, flavor and salt. Usually, store-bought stocks don't have the specific flavor you can get from making it yourself, plus you don't have control over the salt which in some cases can cause your final dish to be too salty.
But for most, making a stock is a daunting thought and many think it's not worth the effort. I'm here to tell you that stock-making isn't as hard as most people think, but yes, getting the bones can be a bit of a hassle and it does take a while, but it's definitely worth the effort. Plus, turning your stock into a glaze (as seen on the Glaze page) will allow you easily store your stock for months at a time, allowing you to take only what you need for each individual dish!
The basic ingredients in a stock are bones, mirepoix, seasonings and water. Of course, depending on the type of stock you want you change the bones used i.e. chicken bones, fish bones, beef bones, etc...
Bones
Beef and Veal Bones
Typically you should try to get these bones from younger animals, the young age equates to more gelatin in the cooked stock, giving it a fuller body. Plus, try to get neck, back and shank bones as they provide similar benefits as young animals.
When preparing the bones cut them into 3-4 inch pieces, making the pieces too long won't allow all the flavor to be released into the stock.
Fish BonesUse a lean fish when making stock as fatty fish will add too much of a distinctive flavor to your liquid.
To prepare your fish bones use a cleaver or similar knife to cut up the bones into chunks then rinse them with cold water to remove any extra scales, blood vessels or other impurities before use.
Chicken Bones
Be sure to chop up the bones a bit before using.
Combining Bones
There are a number of other bones used in making stocks such as lamb, game, ham, etc... and it's usually acceptable to mix them for the stock. However, you should try to avoid combining strong flavored bones, such as those from lamb, with those with a softer flavor, such as beef.
Mirepoix
When chopping your vegetables you should cut them to fit the type of stock you're making. The longer the stock will cook the larger the vegetables should be. For example, for stocks made from beef bones you should cut your vegetables into large pieces, 1-2 inches, for chicken bone stock 1/2 inch would work better.
Seasonings
The basic seasonings used in stocks are:
- bay leaves
- parsley stems
- peppercorns
- thyme
- sometimes garlic
You may notice that there is no salt on this list, that's not a mistake. Salt is not added to stocks because stocks are used is such a wide variety of foods the cook never knows how much salt will be needed. And since, unlike other seasonings, the benefits of salt are gained even if it's added at the very end, there is no real reason to add it to the stock.
For long-cooking stocks you may want to wait to add your seasonings until about half-way through, but that's entirely up to you. Plus, using some type of sachet to hold your seasonings in while they're cooking will assist in skimming the stock without removing flavors. A good idea for a sachet is wrapping them in cheesecloth and tying it up with string.
Now that you have a good idea of what goes into a stock, continue onto the next section on the Basics of Making a Stock.