Homemade Stock

Stocks made from scratch have the benefit of all of the nutrients absorbed from the bones and meat used. They are not high in salt and artificial flavours and additives like many store bought stocks.

The advantage of researching and trialing recipes means you find new and better ways of doing things all the time. I have a new stock recipe I have been trying and I love it. It is a clear stock that is strained, instead of blending the vegetables into it like my old recipe. I will leave my old stock recipe here also for anyone who prefers that one.

New Stock Recipe:

• Take a chicken carcass, or lamb/beef bones, and roast in a preheated moderate oven for about 30-40 minutes. This will release flavour and juices from any remaining meat, and the bones. You don't want too much colour on it, or you will end up with a darker stock.

• Roughly chop up some vegetables - you can use whatever you like. I use 1 carrot, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 leek, 1 onion, 1 stalk of celery. Also lemon works well with chicken, so I add half a lemon roughly chopped if making chicken stock.

• Heat 1-2T olive oil in a stock pot and add the vegetables. Cook at at low to moderate heat for 5 minutes, and then add the cooked chicken carcass, or meaty bones. Add enough cold water to cover the meat, and leave to simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. 

• Do not stir as this will result in a cloudy stock. The less you stir it the clearer it will be. About 20 minutes before you take it off the heat, add whatever herbs you would like. 

• Once you have taken it off the heat, strain the liquid into a separate bowl or jug.

I measure out 1c amounts and freeze them in ice cube trays, then once they are frozen I transfer the stock cubes to a glad bag with the date, amount, and type of stock written on the front.

Old Stock Recipe:  

• Fill a stock pot 4/5 full or raw meaty beef bones for beef stock, or a whole chicken if making chicken stock.Peel the skin off the chicken first - you can boil some water to scald the chicken with to make it easier.
• Cover the chicken or beef bones with water - leaving 2-3 inches at the top of the stock pot. Add 1T of Himalayan Sea Salt (normal salt is fine also). Slowly bring to the boil. After it's started to boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, and skim any scum off the top with a spoon as it appears. 
• Add fresh or dried herbs, bay leaves are always good, also some thyme and parsley. 
• Simmer for 2 hours, then take out any meaty bones and take the meat off them, then return both the meat and the bones to the stock. 
• Add veges - onions, carrots, celery, parsnips etc and return to a simmer. Leave it simmering for another 30-60 minutes. 
• Discard the bones, then using a hand mixer or a potato masher, puree the veges into the stock. Freeze in icecream containers until you need to use it.

Note: When you use this stock use at a ratio of 1.5L water to half a litre of stock.