Making Stock & Bone Broth

Q: Why should you make your own stocks and broths at home?

- Less waste. Tired vegetables and trimmings get one last, useful life before they spoil. - More flavor. Homemade stock is deeper and more rounded than anything you’ll find on a store shelf. - Built for your dish. You can steer a stock toward the meal it’s headed for, using regional ingredients that match the final plate. - Better value. Salt and water are often the first two ingredients in store-bought stock and bone broth. When you make your own, you’re paying for flavor. - A winter bonus. A pot simmering on the stove adds welcome humidity to the house during cold, dry winters.

Q: How can stocks be used beyond soup?

Soup is only the start. - Sauces. Stock is the backbone of a pan sauce or gravy. - Braising meats. Stock gives a braise body and depth that water never will. - Cooking grains. Rice and other grains cooked in stock instead of water absorb its flavor with every grain. - Bone broth. Sipped on its own, bone broth is a nourishing, collagen-rich staple, and it’s often called a superfood.

Q: What can you use to make stock, beyond chicken?

Beef, pork, lamb and goat. Bones, tendons and cartilage do the heavy lifting. Leave out large cuts of meat, offal and fat. You can even simmer the head, though perhaps not a cow’s. Turkey and other poultry. Everything goes in the pot, skin included. Fish and shellfish. Fish, along with shrimp, lobster and crab shells, makes a stock that can become the soul of a gumbo or bouillabaisse. Vegetables. Almost anything works except lettuce and starchy vegetables. This is where creativity counts. It’s the difference between a dutiful stock of onion, celery and carrot and a broth with real character, a foundation for whatever comes next. Master vegetable stock, and every other stock on this list gets better with it, along with your cooking. Mushrooms. They live in the produce section, but they’ve earned their own mention. Mushrooms bring a savory depth of umami that lifts a whole dish. The stem ends and less-than-pretty pieces carry plenty of flavor that would otherwise go to the trash, or, in my house, the compost. Herbs, and plenty of them. The standards are thyme, rosemary, parsley and oregano. Less expected but worth trying: cilantro, bay leaf, green onion or chives, marjoram, ginger, and chili peppers, fresh or dried.

Q: How do you strain, cool and store homemade stock?

Straining. When the stock is done, lift out the large bones and vegetables with tongs or a spider. Then pour the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer. For a clearer stock, line the strainer with cheesecloth. Press gently on the solids if you like, but don’t force them through; that’s how cloudiness gets in. Cooling. This is the step that matters most, and the one home cooks most often skip. Never put a hot stockpot straight into the refrigerator. It will warm everything around it and take far too long to cool. Instead, divide the stock into smaller, shallow containers, or set them in a sink filled with ice water and stir now and then. Aim to get the stock into the refrigerator within 2 hours of coming off the stove. Skimming the fat. Once chilled, the fat rises and firms into a layer on top. Lift it off and discard it, or save rendered chicken or beef fat for roasting potatoes. Storing. Homemade stock keeps for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator, or about 3 months in the freezer for the best quality. Freeze it in quart containers for soups and braises, leaving about an inch of headspace for the stock to expand. Ice cube trays work well for smaller portions, perfect for a pan sauce or a pot of rice. Label every container with the type of stock and the date. Reheating. Bring refrigerated stock to a full boil before using it. Frozen stock can go straight into a pot over low heat, or thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

brooksandlandry

Feb 25, 2023

5 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

Why Make Your Own Stock? A Chef’s Guide to

By Brandon Brooks, Executive Chef & Owner, Brooks & Landry Fine Catering

Homemade Stock and Bone Broth

Somewhere in your refrigerator there’s half an onion, a few limp stalks of celery, and the bones from Sunday’s roast chicken. Most kitchens call that waste. A good cook calls it the beginning of stock. Homemade stock is one of the simplest things you can make, and it quietly improves almost everything you cook afterward.

Why should you make your own stocks and broths at home?

Less waste. Tired vegetables and trimmings get one last, useful life before they spoil.
More flavor. Homemade stock is deeper and more rounded than anything you’ll find on a store shelf.
Built for your dish. You can steer a stock toward the meal it’s headed for, using regional ingredients that match the final plate.
Better value. Salt and water are often the first two ingredients in store-bought stock and bone broth. When you make your own, you’re paying for flavor.
A winter bonus. A pot simmering on the stove adds welcome humidity to the house during cold, dry winters.

How can stocks be used beyond soup?

Soup is only the start.

Sauces. Stock is the backbone of a pan sauce or gravy.
Braising meats. Stock gives a braise body and depth that water never will.
Cooking grains. Rice and other grains cooked in stock instead of water absorb its flavor with every grain.
Bone broth. Sipped on its own, bone broth is a nourishing, collagen-rich staple, and it’s often called a superfood.

What can you use to make stock, beyond chicken?

Beef, pork, lamb and goat. Bones, tendons and cartilage do the heavy lifting. Leave out large cuts of meat, offal and fat. You can even simmer the head, though perhaps not a cow’s.

Turkey and other poultry. Everything goes in the pot, skin included.

Fish and shellfish. Fish, along with shrimp, lobster and crab shells, makes a stock that can become the soul of a gumbo or bouillabaisse.

Vegetables. Almost anything works except lettuce and starchy vegetables. This is where creativity counts. It’s the difference between a dutiful stock of onion, celery and carrot and a broth with real character, a foundation for whatever comes next. Master vegetable stock, and every other stock on this list gets better with it, along with your cooking.

Mushrooms. They live in the produce section, but they’ve earned their own mention. Mushrooms bring a savory depth of umami that lifts a whole dish. The stem ends and less-than-pretty pieces carry plenty of flavor that would otherwise go to the trash, or, in my house, the compost.

Herbs, and plenty of them. The standards are thyme, rosemary, parsley and oregano. Less expected but worth trying: cilantro, bay leaf, green onion or chives, marjoram, ginger, and chili peppers, fresh or dried.

Vegetable Stock Recipe

Makes 8–10 quarts in a 16-quart stockpot

1–2 heads celery, cut into large pieces
8–10 large yellow onions, cut into medium to large chunks
3–4 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks (go easy here; I often leave them out, depending on where the batch is headed)
2 oz dried mushrooms or 8 oz fresh (porcini are our favorite)
6–8 cloves garlic
1 bunch parsley
2 bay leaves
⅛ cup (2 tablespoons) sea salt
1 tablespoon black pepper

Load the pot with every ingredient first, then add water, leaving at least 2 inches of space at the top so nothing spills over. Bring it to a gentle simmer and let it go for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 hours for the fullest flavor.

Chef’s tip: Add fresh or frozen corn cobs to the pot. They give stock a rich, rounded sweetness, and the trick works with any stock you make.

Beef Stock Recipe

Makes 6–8 quarts in a 16-quart stockpot

8–10 lbs roasted beef bones (or substitute pork or lamb bones)
1 head celery, cut into large pieces
5 large yellow onions, cut into medium to large chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks (optional, depending on the batch)
4 ripe tomatoes, or 2 cans
6–8 cloves garlic
1 bunch parsley
6–8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 rosemary branches
2 bay leaves
⅛ cup (2 tablespoons) sea salt
1 tablespoon black pepper

Load the pot with every ingredient, then add water, leaving at least 2 inches of space at the top. Keep it at a slow simmer for at least 4 hours, or up to 10 hours for the best flavor.

Chicken Stock Recipe

Makes 8–10 quarts in a 16-quart stockpot

5 lbs roasted chicken bones (or substitute shrimp, lobster, turkey or duck)
2 heads celery, cut into large pieces
8–10 large yellow onions, cut into medium to large chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks (optional, depending on the batch)
6–8 cloves garlic
1 bunch parsley
6–8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
⅛ cup (2 tablespoons) sea salt
1 tablespoon black pepper

Load the pot with every ingredient, then add water, leaving at least 2 inches of space at the top. Keep it at a slow simmer for at least 4 hours, or up to 10 hours for the best flavor.

Make a pot once, and you’ll start saving scraps without thinking about it. That’s when you know stock has become part of how you cook.

How do you strain, cool and store homemade stock?

Straining. When the stock is done, lift out the large bones and vegetables with tongs or a spider. Then pour the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer. For a clearer stock, line the strainer with cheesecloth. Press gently on the solids if you like, but don’t force them through; that’s how cloudiness gets in.

Cooling. This is the step that matters most, and the one home cooks most often skip. Never put a hot stockpot straight into the refrigerator. It will warm everything around it and take far too long to cool. Instead, divide the stock into smaller, shallow containers, or set them in a sink filled with ice water and stir now and then. Aim to get the stock into the refrigerator within 2 hours of coming off the stove.

Skimming the fat. Once chilled, the fat rises and firms into a layer on top. Lift it off and discard it, or save rendered chicken or beef fat for roasting potatoes.

Storing. Homemade stock keeps for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator, or about 3 months in the freezer for the best quality. Freeze it in quart containers for soups and braises, leaving about an inch of headspace for the stock to expand. Ice cube trays work well for smaller portions, perfect for a pan sauce or a pot of rice. Label every container with the type of stock and the date.

Reheating. Bring refrigerated stock to a full boil before using it. Frozen stock can go straight into a pot over low heat, or thaw overnight in the refrigerator.