Do you make your own stock? If not, it might be time to start. It's easy, cheap, and adds flavour and depth to your cooking.
Were I the ruler of the world, I would make the throwing away of a chicken carcass a capital offence. Now that may seem harsh, but the poor chuck didn't give up its life just so you could eat a bit of breast meat and pick at the odd leg.
A roast chicken may look spent at the end of Sunday lunch, but let me assure you, that carcass still has so much more to give. Even if you don't have a whole chicken left over, you can still make a pint of chicken stock with as little as four chicken wings, an onion, and a carrot.
It's the same with other meats. Buying meat on the bone costs more because of the added weight, but they provide flavour and structure during cooking, and can be put to use in stock afterwards.
These are a few of the tips that I've picked up over the years of stock-making.
1. Save your leftovers
In my war on waste in the Webb household, I have what I call my 'bag of bits'.
Into this I put leek tops, spring onion ends, carrot tops, the root ends of onions and celery, parsley stalks, green bean tips... in fact, pretty much any vegetable bits apart from potato peelings or red onion (the latter of which will make your stock red).
I save up all these pieces during a week or so of cooking, then with any on-the-turn veg in the fridge, I make stock.
2. Don't boil it
Boiling can produce an emulsion of fat and water resulting in a cloudy stock.
So personally I start with a kettle of freshly boiled water poured over my ingredients and bones, figuring that should see off anything nasty. Anything over 70C will kill any bugs and get things going.
You're after a gentle simmer; there should just be the gentle 'blop' of a bubble here and there.
3. Get the right pot
My stockpot goes by the name of Big Brenda: it's big, and can take a whole chicken.
Indeed I've been known to poach a chicken, keep that liquor, and add the carcass back to it, which gives the stock a sort of head start.
You do need a good, large high-sided pot for making stock that can contain a large amount of water, as it's far better to make a big batch and freeze it. You can even make stock in a slow cooker too. Again I'd start off with a kettle of boiling water.
4. Remeber key ingredients
One single blade of the five found on each star anise is enough to lend any stock a wonderful perfumed depth of flavour. I do this if I'm making stock for things like Asian noodle broths. This flavour goes even better with beef stock.
It's the gelatine found in bones that gives cold stock its distinctive wobble. In chicken stock it's the wings that contain most of this, while in pigs it's the trotters.
5. Store it properly
Once you've strained your stock you can put it in a container, cool it, and freeze it. Or you could concentrate it down. This means putting it back on the heat and reducing to a thick, almost gravy-like consistency.
You can then pour this into an ice-cube tray and freeze. When you're next cooking and need to give the dish a boost, simply pop one out.
6. Try roasting the bones
If you're after a darker more flavourful stock, try roasting the bones beforehand. Fling into a scorching oven and get a good char on them before adding the vegetables and water.
This feature was updated in October 2017
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