Stocks and broths

[tsmba]

Who has the time to make stock at home? I'm wondering what everyone thinks of the products available for these staples? I use the Swanson lo-salt broths and have tried their "stock".....which doesn't seem much different from the other.
For years, I've used the More Than Gourmet products for brown sauce and/or roasted beef and chicken stocks. I like them, but the cooking magazines don't mention them too often. I have not tried their fish stock/fumet products, though.

 

[ouch]

Who has the time to make stock at home? I'm wondering what everyone thinks of the products available for these staples? I use the Swanson lo-salt broths and have tried their "stock".....which doesn't seem much different from the other.
For years, I've used the More Than Gourmet products for brown sauce and/or roasted beef and chicken stocks. I like them, but the cooking magazines don't mention them too often. I have not tried their fish stock/fumet products, though.

Preparing stocks should be part of one's overall cooking philosophy. When you break down chickens, save the bones. Save those shrimp shells and fish heads. You only have to prepare stock on occasion and when you have the time. When you're done, reduce them to an almost syrup-like consistency, freeze them in ice cube trays, and store them in ziplock bags in the freezer. You can then reconstitute them for soup or simply throw a cube into your sauce.

This way, you'll always have them on hand, same as canned glop, but your final product will be much better.

 

[professorchaos]

What he said.

Stock needn't contribute much to your cooking overhead if you approach it as a component of how you cook. And yes, good stocks do make a difference. The French don't call stocks les fonds du cuisine (loosely - the foundation of cuisine) for nothing.

 

[SiBurning]

The problem with most of these products is they're made exclusively from bones. I tried the more than gourmet demi glace, but it's heavy with that bone taste, so I prefer to make my own.

One brand I do like is Imagine Foods line of broths (not stock): http://www.imaginefoods.com/products/category.php?cat_id=207. The organic free range chicken broth stands out as an excellent product, but it's a little thick, so it's not quite right when you want a clear broth. It's also not exactly cheap. I've tried a few of their other products, and am pretty happy with them. You do have to get to know the flavors. Their products aren't bland at all, so they won't all just work for every dish.

I make chicken stock from whole chicken, veal stock from veal breast, beef stock from rib or osso bucco, beef essence from whatever meat (no bones), and vegetable stock. I've also made the occassional beef bone stock by mixing bones with some meaty parts. Don't make much fish stock, but do make court bouillon--when I need some, I make a lot, and freeze it. I do freeze fish parts for stock, and the rare chicken carcass--I don't eat much chicken--but rarely any beef, since I nearly always cook the meat with the bones.

By the way, I think Swanson actually makes a pretty good product, and I do use it when a bone-based stock is called for. Some of the other cheap products I've tried are just dreadful.

The nice thing is these all freeze well, so you only need to make them once or twice a year. The glace and essence stays in the refrigerator just as long.

 

[Carnivore]

I found a nice, quick recipe from Cook's Illustrated that calls for store-bought broth. I can't get that here, but it works pretty well without it.

Get some chicken thighs, remove the skin (yummy cat treats!), remove the meat from the bones, and grind it. I also grind some onion and carrot while I have the grinder on the mixer. I just realised that you could also buy ground chicken from the store.

Put the bones and the ground stuff in a pot of cold water (or broth, if you can get it) along with a bay leaf and some salt (watch the salt if you've used broth instead of water) and pepper, then bring it to a simmer and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

Strain the bits out, and you're ready to go.

Don't feed the spent chicken to cats or dogs. Onions are lilies and some cats and dogs react badly to them. Also, cooked chicken bones are dangerous.

As for straight store-bought broth, I like the Kitchen Basics in the solid-colored TetraPak and the Pacific Organics Low-Salt in the brown TetraPak.

 

[_JP_]

"No time to make stocks?" A slow cooker can take of that problem! Just put the stuff in it and let it simmer, no tending needed.

 

[Alacrity59]

I freeze chicken and turkey carcasses until I have enough to make stock.

 

[alexo]

I like to work with a pressure pot. For chicken and fish, 20 minutes in the highest pressure setting gives a fine stock. Beef may require up to an hour in the same setting.

 

[tsmba]

I believe that, by definition, stocks are made from bones and are simmered a long time. Broths, on the other hand, are made from meat. I have made them, of course, but its not something I normally do. The best beef stocks I've had are made from veal bones (that are tough to find). They have to be roasted in the oven prior to making the stock. Chicken stock is easier, and I've bought bulk packs of backs, necks, and wings at low cost.
While I agree that the total time spent making a good stock isn't too bad, they have to be monitored, skimmed, etc. When you're cooking for two, and have limited kitchen time (not to mention freezer space), alternatives are mighty handy.

 

[Emmett]

I make chicken and ham stocks. My gf makes delicious beef marrow stock that makes me weak in the knees. I don't have a deep freeze, though, so I'm limited in how much I can store. ouch's idea of stock ice cubes is one I'm going to try though. I didn't start making them until recently, but I'm a firm convert. When I need to use store-bought (such as vegetable or mushroom stock) I use the stuff from the organic section that comes in paper cartons. It's not as thin and salty as Swanson. I wish I knew the brand--Pacifica, maybe?

 

[SiBurning]

I believe that, by definition, stocks are made from bones and are simmered a long time. Broths, on the other hand, are made from meat.

The only technical distinction is that stock is meant to serve as the base for soup, stew, and sauce, while broth isn't.

Broth might be used directly in a soup, but not as a base to which water is added. To make a sauce efficiently, a stock needs something to thicken it, typically gelatin, which you get from cooking bones and cartilage for at least four hours. If you don't use bones, you'd typically use starch, such as a roux.

[RANT]
Anyone interested in sauces should read up on its history. A modern cook faces some interesting challenges best understood by knowing where things came from. The French created a great classification system, but the pre-revolution, aristocratic excess still has great influence, mostly for the worse. The Italians invented broth, meat gravy, and roux, but it took the French aristocracy to reduce the flavor of 50 hams into a bottle the size of your thumb. Emulating the aristocratic excesses on a budget is what led to the vile practice of making roux-thickened bone stock. With that kind of legacy, it's better for your palate IMHO to leave the French school to history and go back to Italy (or nearly anywhere else) for inspiration.
[/ENDRANT=Did I mention how I hate bone stock?]

 

[tsmba]

The ideal scenario would be saving all your veg scraps, bones, and meat trimmings; making your own stock, then freezing it in various-sized containers. I've never been able to do that except in a commercial kitchen. That's why its nice to have a pre-made product. I once asked about buying fish bones and scraps for a fish stock and struck out.
It seems like I read about a frozen veal stock product, but shipping cost more than the stock!

 

[homebrewer]

I make a habit of making stock about twice a month. I always save my chicken (or turkey) carcasses and vegetable scraps in the freezer, and they all go into the same stock pot. If I'm out of chicken pieces, my grocer sells veal blade steaks that honestly look inedible, but are fantastic for stock. And they're cheaper than chicken.

I typically make 4 gallons at a time, freeze 2 of them in pint containers, and reduce the other two to demi-glace consistency and freeze individual cubes. As someone else pointed out, roasting the bones/meat under the broiler makes a huge difference in flavor. I also agree with _JP_, in that a slow cooker can be very usefull if you don't have time.

 

[profsaffel]

View attachment 65795

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

[Deltaboy]

We use this at my house when I am in a hurry.

SweetSue's we use it in mashed pototo's , beans , ect in place of water or mixed half and half with water.