Basic Stock

Last time we spoke I had been talking about basic steps for kitchen sustainability. Now it wasn’t nearly a comprehensive list, but it was a good building block to point you in the right direction if you’re starting out.  

In that post I said I would include a basic how- to for making your own stock. And then I didn’t.  

So today is the day. The stars have aligned. This is a pretty simple process, and I’ve included notes on varying it if you need/want to or for dietary reasons. It’s not really a precise recipe as much as it is a concept and process. 

All you need:  

  • 1 tub for veggie scraps 
  • 1 tub for animal scraps (if using) 
  • Salt and pepper (optional) 
  • Stock pot 
  • Water (quantity varies on size of batch) 

As I mentioned previously, I keep a tub in the fridge for veggie scraps and any time I cook, my veggie scraps go in that bucket. The classic veggies used for Mirepoix are carrots, celery, and onions; but you can use almost any vegetable. ESPECIALLY if you are making a veggie stock and not a meat stock because it will deepen the flavor. Green onions, squash, broccoli, bell pepper scraps, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, asparagus. Anything that is not molding or decaying (let’s not confuse making stock with compositing here).  

I tend to keep my animal scraps in the freezer. This is both because they keep longer, but also because it saves room in the fridge. You can use any animal scraps, but I try to stick to bone and meat. It is up to you if you are just making generic stock, or if you want to specify an animal and keep them separate. Some people just make ‘stock’ if you eat enough meat and are using things regularly enough or have a particular left over you want to use that is fine too. Save all the casings from your seafood as you prep it and make “seafood broth” any time we have a bird of any kind I boil the carcass. “Duck,” “Turkey,” “Goose,” Even rotisserie chicken. The fattier the animal, the more flavor.  

So there’s the concept. Let’s get down to ratio and process. Below is the basic ratio. You can scale it up or down if need be. You can also technically increase the amount of “boiler” to water if you want to for fuller flavor, but it’s really not necessary. 

1 Gallon water 

4 Cups Boiler 

Put your water and filler into a large pot. Bring to a boil. Let boil until meat is broken down and veg is soft. For a small batch this can be roughly an hour. For a higher gallonage this can take up to 7 hours. IF you choose to season your stock, do so at the end as the seasoning will change as it cooks. I tend to not add salt and pepper as I prefer to do so when I cook, and you don’t want to end up with a final product that is too salty. Strain and store in an airtight container. 

*** A note on the ‘boiler’ section: This is at your discretion. If you are completely an herbivore, then this can be 100% plant matter. If you are using an animal element you can play with the ratios as you like. I tend to prefer that 75% of my boiler portion be animal because I want the fattiness as a base for a lot of dishes, but you can do 50% or even less if that’s what you have available and you will still get a functional and flavorful stock.  

**** stock can also be cooked down into a fattier and more concentrated form before straining (if you are making an animal stock it will kind of gelatinize as it cools). This can make it easier to store and then you will just dilute it with water before using.  

Have Fun and get cooking!  

All the best, 

Mikaela 

5 comments

The Green Kitchen: A Crash Course in Kitchen Sustainability - RavenWerks Guild

[…] This is my number one “Big” little. Taylor touched a bit on this in her ComPosting (ha! see what I did there?) If you missed that post- check, it out {here} there’s a ton of valuable info in it. But I want to elaborate a tidbit on it. whilst many of your kitchen scraps CAN get composted, there are a select few things that have BETTER uses than compost. Uses that go right back into your kitchen to save you money while being environmentally friendly. These scraps include carrots, celery, onions, parsley, and any form of bones- beef, poultry, even shrimp casings and clam shells. These, I store in a small tub in my fridge for the veggies and the freezer for the meat bones/ scraps. When I have enough, I throw it all into a large stock pot with water and boil it into the best stock you’ll ever have, then it can be used for anything you’d use stock for. I also do this anytime we have a turkey (at the holidays) or a rotisserie chicken, you just boil the whole carcass with the veggie waste from your stuffing and go. If you’re short on space, you can even cook it down really far until it’s concentrated and then freeze it. If you want a super basic stock recipe that anybody can do, click HERE.  […]

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great post – thanks !!

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Loved this post – –

Stay Blessed – Mel
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Basic Stock is a flavorful and versatile ingredient used as a base in many recipes. This article provides a concise guide on how to make basic stock using simple ingredients like vegetables, meat bones, and seasonings. It emphasizes the importance of simmering the stock for a long time to extract maximum flavor.
Regard Mel

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