Bone stocks are a fundamental element of the wholefood way of eating and symbol of the tenets of this regime- heal, nourish, delight. Bone stocks are a deeply nourishing, warming and delightful treat for your body.
As a chef, stock making is a foundation skill that all my cooking is based on. But at home I'd given it up. Couldn't be bothered.
Too much trouble.
Too fiddly.
What was I thinking?
Stock is easy, easy, easy and super, super lovely. It makes everything you cook taste better. And adds essential fats and minerals that your body needs to take up the nutrients in foods you are eating. How did I forget this? Why did I think I didn't need this liquid of life in my pot, fridge or freezer at all times?!
My family loves chicken soup made with the carcass from the roast. At the first sign of sniffles it's my 'home remedy soup du jour'. The sweet aroma fills my kitchen. Onions, carrots, celery, bay, cheeky peppercorn or few. Then the legendary antibiotic effect on a runny nose and sore throat comes to the rescue.
Cooking stock also forces me to slow down a bit, spend the day mooching around home rather than rush in and out all day. Cooking it makes me think of how to use the day, use my home time, use the stock even. All of this is a good thing. Stock won't be rushed, and neither a stock maker...
If you are thinking about stock check out this and this and get out the pot..
Tips for stock.
You are essentially slow simmering a pot of vegetables (onion, celery and carrot) with bones. Slow simmer is key here. As at bones heat up they leech out their impurities into the water (impurity is chef speak for blood). This grey scum floats to the top and will sit there until you skim it off, unless the water is moving too quickly. More than a slight movement in the water will see this scum descend into the stock and make your broth cloudy. The fats and scum easily emulsify with the water, causing cloudiness, which does not change the flavour of the stock, but the look. A clear, glistening stock is what you are looking for.
Time. Vegetable stock takes less than an hour, chicken stock 2-4 hours, beef bones upwards of 6-8 hours. Some people do beef stock overnight in their slow cooker. Time is needed to make stock, and it's worth every second.
Keep it simple. As I said, you are just cooking up some veg scraps and bones. Not much can go wrong, short of the pot boiling dry. Which can be avoided by topping up the liquid if it reduces too far before the stock has reached full strength. Which will be when you decide it has. It's tasty water. You all can do tasty water. Relax and get to it!
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