Making homemade stock is super easy and practically free, depending on what you add to it. Today on KKTV, at The Cliff House at Pikes Peak, Chef Justin Boudouin and I make a basic chicken stock. You can use this same method with chicken bones, fish bones, pork bones, beef bones, veal bones, etc.
Chef uses an onion, celery, carrot and leek in this version of stock, with additions of peppercorns, fresh thyme, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. You can also use “leftovers” to make stock. When I say leftovers, I mean the peel and ends of vegetables you normally cut off and throw away. Whatever vegetables or bones you use, the basic recipe stays pretty much the same.
Roast whatever bones you’re using. When I’m cooking dinner and cutting bones off pork, beef or chicken; I toss them in a freezer bag until I get a bag full and then make stock. If you’re using frozen bones, let them defrost before roasting in the oven. I have also made stock without roasting the bones first. I simply toss the bones in a big pot and then proceed.
The other thing I do is keep a freezer bag of vegetable “discards” in the freezer so that when I’m ready to make stock, pretty much everything I’m using didn’t cost me anything. I put my carrot peelings in it, the ends and leaves of celery, and even the ends of onions I chop. I have used green bean tips, broccoli stems and potato peelings too. Your flavor will change a bit, depending on what you toss in the pot.
There’s a couple of different ways you can go with your stock, both are delicious.
- Roasted – While your bones are roasting in the oven, heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a big pot. Add your vegetables and cook over medium-high heat to caramelize them. Add your roasted bones and about a gallon of water. Bring to a simmer and then cook for about 8 hours, skimming the fat and impurities that rise to the top with a spoon.
- Raw – If you don’t want to roast your bones and caramelize the vegetables, you can simply add the raw veggies with the bones and add your gallon of water and then proceed as you would with the roasted. If I have leftover wine I’ll toss that in too sometimes, depending on what I’m using my stock for. Toss in a bay leaf and peppercorns and whatever fresh herb you want with the water. If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can also use dried.
As the stock simmers, you can occasionally skim the fat that rises to the top of the water. Once your stock is ready, strain it. Let the broth cool. You can immediately use the stock or freeze it for future recipes. I like to freeze mine in ice-cube trays. Once the cubes are frozen I pop them out and put them in a freezer-safe bag. Then, whenever I need a cup or so of stock, I pop out my cubes and instantly have it.
Homemade stock may seem like a lot of bother when you can easily pick it up at the store but when I’m using the bones and vegetables I’ve frozen, it literally costs me pennies for a whole pot…and it does taste better. Stock can be used in whatever sauces you’re making, gravies, soups, etc.
Homemade stock using items you have on hand, or just a few vegetables you buy. The house will smell wonderful, you’ll have stock in your freezer at all times, it’s super easy, very cheap, and most important…delicious!