Sometimes the simplest kitchen skill comes in the most useful
During the holiday season, we are often encouraged to step back, take stock of the things we take for granted and reflect on the unsung heroes that silently add comfort, serenity, and pleasure to an existence that spends the rest of the year praying for the sweet release of the void.
These unsung heroes take many forms—the friend who stops you from sending that late night drunken text to your ex; the toilet plunger waiting thanklessly in the dark corner of your in-law’s bathroom closet; and the most underappreciated of all kitchen ingredients: stock. I’m not talking about broth, shares in ownership of a company, or the “fun chair” in Uncle Touchy’s puzzle basement, but the liquid backbone of practically every delicious soup, sauce, and braising liquid that has ever passed your lips.
If you’ve tossed a bouillon cube in some water then you’ve kinda-sorta made a stock, but only in the same sense that Meghan Trainor audibly pouting into auto-tune is kinda-sorta making music. Bouillon cubes certainly have a place in the kitchen—right next to the powdered butter and dehydrated pork patties in your doomsday survival kit.
Sure, it takes a little more time to make than unwrapping one of those tiny sodium bombs, but making your own stock actually requires very little attention and the finished stock can be frozen in ice cube-sized portions, making it as easy to use as anything that comes rolling off the Maggi production line.
In my not-so-humble opinion, the most versatile and useful of all the stocks is chicken stock. Good chicken stock can not only be used for soup, but can also be used as a substitute for water in almost any savory dish. (Pro tip: anytime you add water to a recipe, it’s an opportunity to add flavor. Use stock instead!)
The exact ingredients that go into chicken stock are ultimately up to the cook, but usually it’s made with water, chicken, aromatic vegetables and herbs. I recommend eight pounds of chicken for every four quarts of water—a 1:2 ratio—to get a super-rich and flavorful result.
Surprisingly, chicken breasts produce the cleanest tasting and most chicken-y flavored stock, but they also produced the thinnest bodied stock. To add much needed body, make sure 1-2 lbs of the chicken is cartilage and gelatin-rich wings and feet (yes, chicken feet!).
There’s no need to use whole, pristine veggies for stock. Use up kitchen scraps like onion ends with skins, carrot peels and celery tops, but make sure you have the equivalent of four large onions, four large carrots, four ribs of celery with leaves, eight cloves of garlic, a couple of parsley sprigs with stems, and a couple sprigs of thyme. Don’t use cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli or cauliflower unless you want to add notes of sulphur and failure to your stock.
Put the chicken, vegetables and herbs in a stockpot, bring to a simmer over low heat and gently simmer for an hour and a half. If you don’t cook it long enough, you won’t extract enough flavor or gelatin to end up with a stock that tastes worth the trouble, so go have a drink and watch a few episodes of Samurai Gourmet while your stock simmers away.
If you want a clear stock, don’t let it boil. Boiling causes some of the fat to emulsify into the stock, making it murky which automatically summons a French chef who will claim your father smells of elderberries.
Once the stock is finished simmering, strain it through two sieves with a damp cheese cloth between them. The bones and vegetables will get caught in the top sieve while the fine particles will get caught by the cloth.
To easily skim the fat, let the strained stock sit for a few minutes until the fat rises to the top then carefully drop a single paper towel on the surface. When you remove the paper towel, it will take some of the fat with it. Repeat with new sheets until the surface is acceptably fat free.
Let your stock cool to room temperature then store in airtight containers in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for three to six months. Pro tip 2: Freeze some of the stock in ice cube trays. Once frozen, store the cubes in resealable plastic bags to add extra flavor to sautés, stir-fries or sauces.
One final thought on bouillon cubes. One cube snuck into your favorite victim’s shower head will give them a certain je ne sais quoi around the office all day. Bon appetite!
Mike McJunkin is a native Chattanoogan currently living abroad who has trained chefs, owned and operated restaurants. Join him on Facebook at facebook.com/SushiAndBiscuits