Stocks are important for soups, sauces, as well as imparting flavor and moisture to cooked meats. The clarity and flavor of your stock can have tremendous impact on the finished dish. As such making a good stock is imperative.
Stocks were originally made predominantly from meat rather than bones. In more modern times however, bones are used.
EditMaximizing flavor
Making stock is not an excuse to throw any old leftovers you have lying around. Scraps discarded during preparation are OK, but old leftovers that have been in the fridge for a week are not. Although this is often appropriate to use older vegetables and such like, meat bones and fish however should be used when fresh. It is especially true for fish to produce a stock that is reminiscent of the ocean rather than the back of one's refrigerator.
Chop the vegetables into small pieces and break up the meat and/or bones. Doing so increases surface area and release more flavor into the liquid.
Brown the meat before adding the liquid. Roasting or pan frying the meat, bones and vegetables first before adding any liquid will help to caramelize the natural sugars in the ingredients and add both color and flavor to the final stock. Stocks prepared in this way are used primarily in brown sauces.
Use a combination of meat and bones. Substituting some of the bones with meat is a great way to add an extra depth of flavor to the dish and will always yield a superior stock than bones alone. Although this will usually be more expensive, you can use a cheaper cut of meat without any ill effect. However cheaper does not mean older and freshness of the meat chosen is still imperative.
Use cuts of meat that contain more gelatin such as veal feet, chicken feet and port rinds. Add such cuts and your stock will be both smoother and slightly thicker with less reduction.
Do not over-reduce stocks. Although some reduction is fine, if a recipe calls for an more concentrated stock, it is better to prepare a 'double stock' (see next tip), rather than over reduce the stock. Over-reducing a stock will produce a stock with a 'flat' flavor as many of the delicate aromatic flavors will have evaporated away.
Cook the meat and aromatics in an existing stock instead of water. Using an existing stock in this way will add a rich complexity to the resulting stock. This is known as making a double stock and is preferable to overly reducing a stock if a highly concentrated flavor is required.
EditKeeping stocks clean and clear
When adding the water to meat and bones, always add cold water. If you add hot water, you will release impurities that will cloud the stock.
Do not boil stocks vigorously. Meat and bones while cooking will release many proteins and fats into the water that are not desirable in the finished stock. If the liquid is boiling, these compounds will be churned back into the stock where they emulsify. If your stock simmers gently, these compounds rise to the top where they may be skimmed.
Do not stir or move the solids around within the liquid while cooking. As the stock cooks, impurities released will naturally settle on the bottom of the pot. If disturbed, these impurities will mix into the liquid and cloud the stock. The same rule applies when straining the stock. The aim is to leave these impurities in the pot, so don't disturb the water too much while straining.
Don't add any thickener to the stock until the end and once all the fat is removed. If you thicken a stock while some fat remains, it will remain dissolved within the liquid and you will never get it out.
EditTypes of stock