homemade stock

[bigwong235]

how many of you make your own stock?

it takes a while for it to cook, but the actual prep work is really fast. i'm still amazed at how much more flavor stock adds to food. canned broth is alright, but the homemade stuff is freaking awesome. i like to make a big pot of it, and then freeze it in ice cube trays. i'm down to about seven cubes of chicken now, and i'm thinking about doing a beef stock. i'm wondering if the beef stock will have as much body as the chicken stock, since i added chicken feet as well as the bones.

[kasia]

i think beef bones make a much tasteier stock than chicken. you'd have to spend more time scooping off the top layer of oil, though. for some reason, throwing in a whole onion also makes a huge difference.

thanks for the ice cube trays idea.

[kimpossible]

feet will add a lot of cartilage. i think as long as you have some joint material in there you'll get a more gelatinous brew. if you want some of the same gelatinous texture in beef you could always throw in some beef shank as well. actually, some ribs might do the same thing.

i never make it to the freeze stage. it's always gone before then.

[Adaon]

Sounds like an idea to work on.

[eos]

my sister makes her own veggie stock. she's very protective of her recipe.

[Adaon]

my sister makes her own veggie stock. she's very protective of her recipe.

Must mean it's good. :wink: But only you can tell us if it was or not. :frown:

[eos]

psshh...lil brat sassed me when i asked her to make some last time. she was like "just put some vegetables in a pot of water. duh."

[haplesshobo]

Can you always reuse bones even after you've eaten off them? I don't recall ever saving or reusing fish bones to make stock, or soup, but we did do that with turkey bones or roast chicken bones.

[bigwong235]

feet will add a lot of cartilage. i think as long as you have some joint material in there you'll get a more gelatinous brew. if you want some of the same gelatinous texture in beef you could always throw in some beef shank as well. actually, some ribs might do the same thing.

i never make it to the freeze stage. it's always gone before then.

i'd rather just eat the ribs! :D

how big a pot of stock do you make? i made the stock a couple months ago, and i'm just now starting to get low!

anyone have any special/secret herbs/spices that they like to throw in?

[Adaon]

psshh...lil brat sassed me when i asked her to make some last time. she was like "just put some vegetables in a pot of water. duh."

As general as possible. Meh. LOL. :biggrin:
Even if she told you what to put in, it might not be the same as hers as the quantities would probably be off, and change the taste.

[kimpossible]

I usually go by what beast parts I have or are available to me. When I lived by a yuppie market I had terrific access to chicken backs and necks. That worked out GREAT. Legs are also fine by me.

My backup is always a frozen game hen. It's about the right size and in a pinch I can drop it in frozen even. I'm about to start experimenting with 'silkie' chickens, the black chickens that are popular in Taiwan. I've only eaten them and never cooked with them. I know what I'll do with the feet - those will be soup but I have to plot out the rest of the body parts first.

For pork I always use neck bones or ocassionally, ribs + dried scallop. Neck bones are more versatile plus you get some nice eating after it's been all cooked out.

Beef - all depends. Marrow bones are good roasted before or no but I think I usually just go for beef shank + tomato. That seems to be the main crowdpleaser in this family.

Do you guys use the brown lu packets or do you concoct your own spices? I used to do it on my own before I discovered the pre-fab sachets. Sometime over the summer I'd like to get a pot of beef stewed in it and roll it up with green onions and bread.

Fish. Usually throw in a whole fish and add some miso, tofu and seaweed. Years ago I started asking around at fish markets for the heads they would throw out. They always thought I was using them for bait. At some point I'd like to try a shrimp shell broth. My main impetus was deciding how to use it first. Plus, we tend to cook the shrimp with shell on more often than not.

Anyone make shrimp stock? Any ideas on use?

[moser]

My backup is always a frozen game hen. It's about the right size and in a pinch I can drop it in frozen even. I'm about to start experimenting with 'silkie' chickens, the black chickens that are popular in Taiwan. I've only eaten them and never cooked with them. I know what I'll do with the feet - those will be soup but I have to plot out the rest of the body parts first.

Are those the little black chickens? Grandma usually likes to put in those little orange herb things (I have no idea what they're called, sorry) - they're some form of dried berries. She may have put in other herbs, but those orange things were the most distinctive.

Ok, this probably didn't help at all. Sorry.

[Adaon]

I usually go by what beast parts I have or are available to me. When I lived by a yuppie market I had terrific access to chicken backs and necks. That worked out GREAT. Legs are also fine by me.

My backup is always a frozen game hen. It's about the right size and in a pinch I can drop it in frozen even. I'm about to start experimenting with 'silkie' chickens, the black chickens that are popular in Taiwan. I've only eaten them and never cooked with them. I know what I'll do with the feet - those will be soup but I have to plot out the rest of the body parts first.

For pork I always use neck bones or ocassionally, ribs + dried scallop. Neck bones are more versatile plus you get some nice eating after it's been all cooked out.

Beef - all depends. Marrow bones are good roasted before or no but I think I usually just go for beef shank + tomato. That seems to be the main crowdpleaser in this family.

Do you guys use the brown lu packets or do you concoct your own spices? I used to do it on my own before I discovered the pre-fab sachets. Sometime over the summer I'd like to get a pot of beef stewed in it and roll it up with green onions and bread.

Fish. Usually throw in a whole fish and add some miso, tofu and seaweed. Years ago I started asking around at fish markets for the heads they would throw out. They always thought I was using them for bait. At some point I'd like to try a shrimp shell broth. My main impetus was deciding how to use it first. Plus, we tend to cook the shrimp with shell on more often than not.

Anyone make shrimp stock? Any ideas on use?

The thing I love about living in the SF Bay Area is the accessibility to Asian markets. Ranch 99 has a complete section just for "soup" bones, especially tail/neck bones and chicken carcasses. They also charge for fish heads, but it's not too bad.

Shrimp stock. Mmm. Can use it for a base for clam chowder? Personally, as I am a noodle fiend, I would use it whenever I'm having seafood with my rice/egg noodles. It doesn't taste right (to me) when you have pork/chicken/beef stock soup with seafood over noodles. The seafood taste gets overwhelmed by the soup.

[Adaon]

Are those the little black chickens? Grandma usually likes to put in those little orange herb things (I have no idea what they're called, sorry) - they're some form of dried berries. She may have put in other herbs, but those orange things were the most distinctive.

Ok, this probably didn't help at all. Sorry.

Sounds like dried dates or something to that extent?. They're pinkish orange, almost salmon color, and about the centimeter long, and half a centimeter wide when left to soak in the soup?

I'm not sure I've eaten the "silkie" chicken before. Is there a texture/taste difference, I'm assuming, that is associated with it? I mean I've seen it in the markets, but never had the guts/drive to go and check it out.

[moser]

^ The orange stuff are dried wolfberries (yay Google!)

Silkie chicken = wu gu ji, per here: NY Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/17/dining/17blac.html?ex=1326690000&en=24035008c8895cd4&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)

[Adaon]

Wolfberries, ahh, gotcha.

Depending on what stock its cooked with, it's usually a lil sweet, I think. It's the one with all the lil seeds inside, right?

[kimpossible]

Wolfberries are the smaller, lighter berries. Red dates are larger and darker. They both have good properties and are pretty harmless. Both are sweet. Sometimes I make a 'tea' by boiling a pot of wolfberries + red dates + longan.

Once I had a really old package of one and ended up a pot full with bonus iddy biddy worms.

[bigwong235]

Anyone make shrimp stock? Any ideas on use?

made it once. used it as a base in a jambalaya. i'd guess it'd go good w/any sort of shellfish/seafood stew. maybe use some in a paella? add some to cioppino, if it doesn't make it too watery? as part of a korean soft tofu soup? soondubu (sp?).

[deez nuts]

Anyone make shrimp stock? Any ideas on use?

i use it sometimes for my fisherman's stew, jambalaya, hai shuen ha fun tong mein (seafood flat noodle soup), da lu mein.

[kimpossible]

hai shuen ha fun tong mein

that would be good. real good.

[deez nuts]

that would be good. real good.

see baby, i come through for you.