Utility Cooking Days

Almost every weekend finds me playing catch-up on kitchen staples: chicken stock; tomato sauce; bread crumbs; ricotta cheese (new to homemade ricotta but loving it). Today is a rainy San Francisco day, just right for slow roasting a big cut of meat and making chicken stock. For the roast, I'm trying Bruce Aidell's 9-hour pork shoulder, except I had to take the skin off because it was too tough to score. We'll see how it turns out, but so far it's been in a 250 degree oven for 6 hours and it looks and smells fantastic.

The food notes for today, however, are not about pig but chicken stock. I can't tell you how much I abhor commercial stocks, even the organic low-sodium ones. I never use them -- I'd rather use lightly salted water and butter (I think I might be quoting Michael Ruhlman here but I'm not sure). It is absurd that people actually spend time telling you how to doctor commercial stock when you could make actual stock in not much more time. So, here's my stock. There are plenty of recipes and the best one is the one that works for you.

Roast chicken and roast guinea hen are in regular rotation at our house, so those are the carcasses I use. I usually spatchcock the guinea hen, so I save the raw backbone and feet, if attached. For some reason, I can never use the heads. If you can, do it. Wrap the raw bones, feet, etc. in foil, place in plastic freezer bag, and freeze. Use within a month or two. Save also any roasted carcasses, presumably stripped of most of the meat. I usually double bag roasted carcasses and freeze for up to two months.

For the meat, therefore, I start with a mix of frozen raw and frozen cooked meat. I rinse the meat in cold water and place at the bottom of a large stock pot. A note on equipment is in order: I use a Sitram stock pot because you want tall and narrow. I find most American stockpots too wide to reduce stock efficiently. More on reducing later. Cover the meat and bones with cold fresh water by at least two inches. Put stockpot on a high burner while you prep the vegetables.

I use leeks (2-3), peeled yellow onion (1), carrots (2-3), celery (2 stalks), and a bouquet garni. Peel the carrots and trim the ends. Use white and light green part of leeks only. Be sure to wash the leeks well because they can be very muddy. I split them in half and rinse under running water, separating the layers. Chop the carrots, celery, and leeks into rough chunks. Depending on the size of the onion, halve it or quarter it. Place prepped vegetables on a plate or tray. For the bouquet garni, combine in cheesecloth one sprig thyme, one or two fresh parsley stems, one or two bay leaves (dried is fine), and a few white or black peppercorns. Tie securely with twine.

Let the water in the stockpot come to a sustained rolling boil, so that lots of lovely, nasty meat scum rises to the top. Turn the flame down, skim off the scum, and add your vegetables and bouquet garni to the water. Add a sprinkle of kosher salt and adjust the flame so that your proto-stock remains at a gentle but steady simmer. I like to see a handful of small bubbles every time I look into the pot but don't worry too much about it. I'd rather have a little more activity in the pot than less.

I let my stock bubble away for at least two hours and not more than four. I do agree with Judy Rodgers that once you turn off the burner, get the bones and other solids out of the stock immediately -- otherwise the stock can taste dirty. I use a large strainer to scoop out the solids and place directly into plastic bags for the garbage can. After the stock cools, I strain it through cheesecloth (wet cheesecloth placed in and carefully covering a large handheld strainer) into a large bowl. If you're in a hurry to cool the stock, prepare an ice bath for the stockpot. I have an enormous stainless steel bowl from Ikea that I picked up for about $7. Works like a charm. Put lots of ice in the bottom of the bowl and add some water. Place the stockpot directly into the ice water bath and stir gently. The stock should cool down in about 10 minutes. Strain as described above.

Taste your stock. If it's flavorful enough to use a base for soup, you're done. If not, scrub out your stockpot and put the strained broth back in. Bring to a boil, and then simmer gently until it is to your taste. The flavors will concentrate as they reduce. I advise you not to add salt at this stage because the saltiness will intensify during reduction as well. You can always add salt to whatever dish in which you plan to use the stock. Once finished, let stock cool for immediate use or for freezing (the ice water bath trick works here, too). Skim off any fat and freeze the stock in 1- quart and 1-cup containers. This combination lets me easily figure out how much stock to thaw for a recipe. I regularly have at least four quarts of stock on hand. When thawing stock for use, always bring to a boil before adding to a recipe. On another safety note, don't refreeze thawed stock -- just make a quick soup by simmering minced fresh vegetables in the leftover stock and adding any cooked grains or meat you have on hand.