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Stockmaking is one of the backbones of the professional kitchen and our online Essential Cooking course shows you how to make it from scratch at home.
As we move towards the Winter months, we look to warmth, comfort and wholesome,hearty food. Homemade stock ticks all of these boxes; give it a fair amount of tender loving care and it will be well worth the wait.
Stockmaking is one of the backbones of the professional kitchen and our online Essential Cooking course shows you how to make it from scratch at home.
We classically make white stock using veal bones, chicken carcasses and a generous amount of aromatics. Veal bones give a gelatinous and richer quality to the end stock. They can be bought from decent local butchers or failing that we’ve got a couple of online suppliers that we would recommend: HG Walter and The Black Farmer.
If you’re looking for even more intensity opt for browning your bones first before adding to your stock pot. This gives your stock even more colour and flavour.
White stock needs to be simmered gently for 2-3 hrs, then strained and reduced until you reach the desired concentration of flavour for use. Brown stock takes a little longer at 4-6 hours.
We often portion out our stock and freeze it, so it’s at the ready for some of our go-to Winter dishes. Here are a few ideas to demonstrate its potential varied use.
Risotto
Adding one ladle full of hot, homemade stock at a time, and you’ll have something bursting with savoury flavour to elevate any simple risotto recipe.
Ramen
This is a brilliant mid-week meal idea. If you have rich homemade brown stock to hand, you can swiftly concoct a ramen bowl laced with spice and brimming with ramen noodles, a soft boiled egg and plenty of coriander. A real treat to sink into after a busy winter day.
Gravy
‘Tis the season for roast dinners. Wow your guests with a gravy that’s truly homemade from the bare bones. Think ahead about prepping a good amount of stock for your Christmas Dinner ‘piece de resistance’. You can never have too much.
Chicken Soup
It really is ‘good for the soul’ and a perfect way to hydrate and nourish yourself through winter colds and bugs. Many international cuisines have their own unique spin on the chicken soup with different flavour profiles that are worth an exploration. Try Avgolemono, a Cypriot soup enhanced with lemon flavours or a Tortilla Soup, packed with fresh flavours, tortilla strips, beans and spice.
Chicken Pie
The list could be endless with pie. Experiment with every filling known to man and shortcrust and puff pastry. How about tarragon, leek and bacon to start with?
Know that a readily available supply of decent stock will be a gamechanger for your home cooking. A strangely therapeutic process; your cooking will be all the more thankful for it.
