For many of us, a warm bowl of homemade soup is the ultimate comfort food. Still, there’s a huge gap between soup available in cans and soup made from scratch. The same goes for the foundation of every great soup (and many other dishes): stock.
Chicken or beef stock, also known as broth, is common in grocery stores but it is actually more flavourful and nutritious when made at home. It might sound like a lot of work, but read on to learn just how easy it can be– and you might just save a buck or two in the process.
AU NATUREL
Stock is produced by simmering chicken, beef, pork, etc. carcasses in liquid over an extended period of time. The heat, liquid and added salt draw the flavour and nutrition out of the remaining bones and tissue. Most commercially available stocks or broths contain several preservatives and an excess of salt. When you make your own stock at home, you control what goes into every part of the process. From the quality of the original meat down to the seasoning, the homemade process allows you to make your stock truly natural.
MORE BANG FOR YOUR CLUCK
If you have ever bought a whole or sectioned chicken and thrown away the bones after you’ve eaten: you may as well have thrown away money. All bones or carcasses should be saved and turned into stock, as it exponentially increases the value of the food that you purchased. $10 spent on a few servings of chicken is one thing, but turn the remaining bones into several cups of stock and that $10 has just gone a lot further.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Don’t be fooled by complex recipes, a simple stock is packed with nutrition and flavour that is simply not available from most commercial brands. Stock can be prepared on the stovetop over the course of a few hours of gentle simmering. Slowcookers or crock pots are also ideal candidates for making your own stock. Homemade stock is a long, but easy process of steeping bones, tissue and a few simple ingredients in liquid– it does all the work for you, no elbow grease required!
To recap: making your own stock is easy, healthy and it saves you money. What else do you need to hear? Set aside some freezer space and store your leftover bones and carcasses; once that fills up, it’s time to make stock. Next thing you know, you’ll be filling that freezer up with your rich, flavourful, homemade ingredient ready to go for the next soup, stew, risotto, or anything that requires stock or broth.
Come in and chat with our experts at D’Arcy’s for any advice in making your own stock. We can offer guidance and recipes– and bones can be sold in volume by request. Whether you are a sophmore simmerer or a seasoned seasoner, we can help take your homemade stock to the next level.