Saturday, April 23, 2011

Tips On Making Stock

The best stock is home made.  You can control the salt and the flavors that go into the stock. Here are a couple of tips.
1. Save the parts you need in a freezer bag. I put the ends of onions and celery along with any vegetables in a freezer bag and write ‘STOCK” on the outside along with the date. Chicken backs, wings etc go in a separate bag. That way you can make the kind of stock you want.
2. Don’t boil stock! Bring it to a simmer and simmer for hours to develop the flavors. Skim off the foam that will develop and discard.
3. Don’t throw out onion skins or the ends of celery. These are perfect for stock. However, I do not recommend using every vegetable peel as they may have pesticides on them.
Lastly, stock will last about 2 weeks in the refrigerator and about six months frozen.  I sometime make smaller amounts and freeze it in ice cub trays. When it is frozen I put the stock cubes in  a bag.  Then I can use what I need.