2008 Hudson Valley Thanksgiving - Making Stocks
November 26, 2008
Preparing Thanksgiving dinner starts way before the turkey is in the oven. Chefs will tell you that stocks are a fundamental element of cooking.
Stocks are extremely versatile and are used in soups, sauces and even roasting. For thanksgiving I will need chicken and turkey stock for several
dishes, including the turkey. The best type of stock you can get is one you make yourself.
Recently more commercially made stock has hit the market. Traditionally the only store bought option was chicken broth. Swanson just came out
with a chicken stock produce to go along with their popular broth. I’ve tried several store broths and always liked Swanson the best. A broth is an
ingredient that you would use to add flavor to dishes. It’s lighter in body and taste then a stock. Stock is used more for gravies and sauces and has a
strong meat flavor. Swanson’s does a pretty good job with their stock and I always keep a few boxes on hand when homemade is not an option.
I will be using two cookbooks as guides for my stock. For the chicken stock I will be following the recipe from the Culinary Institute, “Culinary Boot
Camp”. The CIA offers a five day boot camp cooking course to non-professionals to offer a taste of what it’s like to be a culinary student at the top
school in the country. The recipe for the turkey stock is actually part of the recipe I use for the Thanksgiving Turkey. One of my favorite
cookbooks is “New York Cooks” by Gillian Duffy. It includes over 100 recipes from top New York City Chefs that appeared in New York Magazine. I
like the book so much because it is very diverse and includes some of the biggest names in NYC restaurants from Mario Batalli to Eric Ripert. The
recipes are adapted from the restraint version for the home cook. Typically I do not like that type of alteration. I like to replicate exactly what is
done in top restaurants as a way to teach myself proper techniques that I can then apply to my own dishes. In this book the recipes to not dumb it
down too much. The turkey recipe is from Chef Waldy Malouf of Beacon Restaurant. The title is “Perfect Brined Herb-Roasted Turkey”. I have used
it for 3 years in a row and the results live up to the name, it really is perfect. The bird is moist from the brining, skin beautifully browned and the
meat tastes as it should, like turkey. The first step is making the turkey stock.
All stock recipes are similar and most cookbooks have their own versions. The key ingredients always remain the same. Stock includes water,
bones, aromatics (onion, carrot, celery), salt and pepper. That’s really all it is. The hardest part about making stock at home is access to the bones.
I will typically buy a whole chicken for a Sunday dinner and then save the carcass and bones for stock. This week I purchased two birds, roasted
one and butchered the other. Buying whole chickens is very economical if you don’t mind putting in a little work. First off it can be less than a
dollar a pound. Compare that to boneless chicken breasts that can be as much as $4 a pound. I butcher the chicken and make my own boneless
breasts. Plus I still have the legs and thighs for another meal and bones for stock. From one $5 purchase I can make two meals and stock. Stock can
then be frozen as used as needed for future meals. I freeze it in Popsicle cups or ice cup trays so if I only need a little at a time it can be portioned out.
Chicken Stock
Once you have the bones the hardest part is done. The bones are covered in a stock pot with water and brought to a boil over low heat. You don’t
want a rapid boil since this will bring up too many impurities. Tiny bubbles are all you need so that everything remains relatively still. The bones
do have some meat on them so don’t think you have to completely clean them off of the meat. Simmer for about 3 hours. The aromatics are then
added to the stock and cooked for another hour. This is one difference between the CIA recipe and other stocks I have tried. Others add the
aromatics at the start with the bones. The CIA adds them at the end because after an hour all of the flavor has been released from the vegetables.
After an hour they are over cooked and start to release sulfuric compounds which result in an undesirable flavor. These are the little things that
can be picked up from following a professional recipe. Throughout the cooking process the stock just needs to be skimmed to remove some of the fat
and scum. The final step is passing it through a sieve. A good quality stock should be free and clear of impurities.
Turkey Stock
The turkey stock follows a similar process but the purpose of this stock is just to make the gravy so less quantity is needed. The bones for this stock
come from our Thanksgiving bird by removing the two joints of the wing and leaving the wing drumstick attached to the turkey. The wings are
roasted for about 45 minutes to brown the skin. The wings, giblets and neck are covered in water and brought to light boil. The vegetables are
then added right away and cooked with the bones for 2 to 3 hours. So you can see that not every chef follows the guidelines of the CIA. Chicken
stock is also added since it will be used for gravy. This year I think I will wait to add the vegetables till the last hour. At the end the liver is poached
in the stock for 6 minutes and then the stock it strained just like before. This will result in only 5 to 6 cups which will be plenty for dinner.
I find the more recipes you try the more you learn. I adapt methods I have learned from other recipes to future dishes. In something as standard as
making stock you can see how recipes can differ. I also don’t assume that there is only one correct way to do things. I believe both recipes are
correct and it then comes down to your personal preference. Cooking involves feel and adaptation which then creates your own way.
Recipe Source:
New York Cooks: The 100 Best Recipes from New York Magazine by Gillian Duffy
Culinary Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at The Culinary Institute of America by Martha Rose Shulman
November 26, 2008
Preparing Thanksgiving dinner starts way before the turkey is in the oven. Chefs will tell you that stocks are a fundamental element of cooking.
Stocks are extremely versatile and are used in soups, sauces and even roasting. For thanksgiving I will need chicken and turkey stock for several
dishes, including the turkey. The best type of stock you can get is one you make yourself.
Recently more commercially made stock has hit the market. Traditionally the only store bought option was chicken broth. Swanson just came out
with a chicken stock produce to go along with their popular broth. I’ve tried several store broths and always liked Swanson the best. A broth is an
ingredient that you would use to add flavor to dishes. It’s lighter in body and taste then a stock. Stock is used more for gravies and sauces and has a
strong meat flavor. Swanson’s does a pretty good job with their stock and I always keep a few boxes on hand when homemade is not an option.
I will be using two cookbooks as guides for my stock. For the chicken stock I will be following the recipe from the Culinary Institute, “Culinary Boot
Camp”. The CIA offers a five day boot camp cooking course to non-professionals to offer a taste of what it’s like to be a culinary student at the top
school in the country. The recipe for the turkey stock is actually part of the recipe I use for the Thanksgiving Turkey. One of my favorite
cookbooks is “New York Cooks” by Gillian Duffy. It includes over 100 recipes from top New York City Chefs that appeared in New York Magazine. I
like the book so much because it is very diverse and includes some of the biggest names in NYC restaurants from Mario Batalli to Eric Ripert. The
recipes are adapted from the restraint version for the home cook. Typically I do not like that type of alteration. I like to replicate exactly what is
done in top restaurants as a way to teach myself proper techniques that I can then apply to my own dishes. In this book the recipes to not dumb it
down too much. The turkey recipe is from Chef Waldy Malouf of Beacon Restaurant. The title is “Perfect Brined Herb-Roasted Turkey”. I have used
it for 3 years in a row and the results live up to the name, it really is perfect. The bird is moist from the brining, skin beautifully browned and the
meat tastes as it should, like turkey. The first step is making the turkey stock.
All stock recipes are similar and most cookbooks have their own versions. The key ingredients always remain the same. Stock includes water,
bones, aromatics (onion, carrot, celery), salt and pepper. That’s really all it is. The hardest part about making stock at home is access to the bones.
I will typically buy a whole chicken for a Sunday dinner and then save the carcass and bones for stock. This week I purchased two birds, roasted
one and butchered the other. Buying whole chickens is very economical if you don’t mind putting in a little work. First off it can be less than a
dollar a pound. Compare that to boneless chicken breasts that can be as much as $4 a pound. I butcher the chicken and make my own boneless
breasts. Plus I still have the legs and thighs for another meal and bones for stock. From one $5 purchase I can make two meals and stock. Stock can
then be frozen as used as needed for future meals. I freeze it in Popsicle cups or ice cup trays so if I only need a little at a time it can be portioned out.
Chicken Stock
Once you have the bones the hardest part is done. The bones are covered in a stock pot with water and brought to a boil over low heat. You don’t
want a rapid boil since this will bring up too many impurities. Tiny bubbles are all you need so that everything remains relatively still. The bones
do have some meat on them so don’t think you have to completely clean them off of the meat. Simmer for about 3 hours. The aromatics are then
added to the stock and cooked for another hour. This is one difference between the CIA recipe and other stocks I have tried. Others add the
aromatics at the start with the bones. The CIA adds them at the end because after an hour all of the flavor has been released from the vegetables.
After an hour they are over cooked and start to release sulfuric compounds which result in an undesirable flavor. These are the little things that
can be picked up from following a professional recipe. Throughout the cooking process the stock just needs to be skimmed to remove some of the fat
and scum. The final step is passing it through a sieve. A good quality stock should be free and clear of impurities.
Turkey Stock
The turkey stock follows a similar process but the purpose of this stock is just to make the gravy so less quantity is needed. The bones for this stock
come from our Thanksgiving bird by removing the two joints of the wing and leaving the wing drumstick attached to the turkey. The wings are
roasted for about 45 minutes to brown the skin. The wings, giblets and neck are covered in water and brought to light boil. The vegetables are
then added right away and cooked with the bones for 2 to 3 hours. So you can see that not every chef follows the guidelines of the CIA. Chicken
stock is also added since it will be used for gravy. This year I think I will wait to add the vegetables till the last hour. At the end the liver is poached
in the stock for 6 minutes and then the stock it strained just like before. This will result in only 5 to 6 cups which will be plenty for dinner.
I find the more recipes you try the more you learn. I adapt methods I have learned from other recipes to future dishes. In something as standard as
making stock you can see how recipes can differ. I also don’t assume that there is only one correct way to do things. I believe both recipes are
correct and it then comes down to your personal preference. Cooking involves feel and adaptation which then creates your own way.
Recipe Source:
New York Cooks: The 100 Best Recipes from New York Magazine by Gillian Duffy
Culinary Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at The Culinary Institute of America by Martha Rose Shulman
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