Stock is basically free nutrition. It uses the bones and skin and bits left over from meat, poultry, fish, even the shells from shrimp or crab, and the scraps from vegetables and herbs that would otherwise be tossed or put in the compost. I read in a nutrition book more than 20 years ago, so I have no reference for you, that the protein from stocks are more available to our bodies than even the protein directly in meat. This does not mean that there is more protein in stock than in a hunk of beef, but that the form it takes is more able to be used and processed by our bodies than that piece of meat. This illustrates to me one of the numerous ways that God takes care of the poor. A scrap of meat on the bone is not enough to make a meal or make one person feel full, but it can be turned into a pot of beans or soup or stock, and now it will feed many and will give them more accessible protein and nutrients than just the bit of meat could.

A lot of people want to make stock, but don't know how. This should not be intimidating or difficult, so I hope this helps you feel confident to make your own. It really is the simplest thing. You take those bones or shells or scraps and put in the vegetable scraps and a few peppercorns, some salt, maybe a bay leaf, bring it to a boil and simmer it for a few hours or just an hour (for seafood or vegetable stocks). Strain, put into containers for your freezer (being careful not to overfill, because they will expand in there a bit), and that's it. Now, I don't always have the time to make a pot of stock when I have the supplies for it. So, I freeze those scraps and pull them out when I have the time or when the freezer is getting too full.

This pile of tough onion ends and dill stems would have become chicken fodder and compost before. However, now I toss it into one of my stock bags in the freezer and use it at a time that is more convenient to me. I used to put the woody stems of rosemary, sage and thyme into the chicken bucket or compost bin, but now they go into the stock bag, too. Cilantro and parsley stems, tough bits of lemongrass and leeks, the ends of garlic I trim off because they are hard, the tips of carrots that I trim when cooking, the ends of celery, trimmings from lemons and limes, all of these things go in my stock bag (and more). Unless I have a very good reason for it, I don't differentiate between chicken, duck, goose, or turkey bones and trimmings for stock. They all go into one poultry stock bag. Likewise, beef and lamb bones and scraps. I even save the cartilage and skin that isn't crisp enough for us to want to eat it. Same goes for fish. The bones and skin and trimmings go in a bag in the freezer for making a quick fish stock later. The shells from shrimp and crab (we don't often have lobster, but have found that the smell is rather strong, and we don't save those - the shells get dried and ground up for calcium for our poultry). Pork bones don't generally get saved, though I do use the shanks and such to make beans and stews. I do save ham bones and the scraps on them to make beans and greens.

There are all sorts of recipes and guides on the right way to make stock. I just toss everything in a big pot, bones, herbs, vegetables, a bit of salt, a few whole peppercorns, and a bay leaf or two, bring it to a boil, turn down the heat to a simmer and let it go. That's it. I don't even skim most of the time. When it has cooked enough (a few hours or more for poultry and meat stocks, and 30 minutes to an hour for vegetable, fish, and shellfish stocks), I strain it, we give the bits in the strainer to our poultry (and pigs, if we have any), though Rich often fishes out the carrot bits to eat, and put the big bowl in the refrigerator to cool. The fat cap on top keeps it from turning for nearly a week. We usually get it into containers for the freezer before that, though. We use quart freezer bags, because they thaw more quickly and are more useful to us in that quantity. Sometimes, I will scrape the fat off and use it for cooking, other times it goes in with the stock to the freezer. Rarely do I absolutely need a clear stock. This does mean that my stock does not always have a uniform flavor, but that is fine for us. Since everything but the few peppercorns, salt, bay leaves, and water are scraps and leftovers, I can make a gallon and a half for basically a nickel or a dime. Even the best price of boxed stock at the store is about a dollar for a quart. We write the type of stock and the date it was made (not packaged) on the bags before we fill them, we put the bags in bowls, cups, or yogurt containers to keep them upright while we fill, and turn the tops down, so the edges don't get too messy. Seal them up and lay them flat in the freezer and we are set for a long time. Just this past week, I turned four gallon bags and one quart bag of vegetable bits into about two gallons of vegetable stock. Even putting the stock back in the freezer, it freed up quite a bit of freezer space for us, and we use it all the time.

If you don't have freezer space or wish to have it shelf stable, you will need to pressure can the meat and seafood stocks. I am not sure about vegetable stock, that may be able to be processed in a boiling water bath, but I am not positive about that. We have always simply frozen it. However, having some that is shelf stable, should the power go out is not a bad idea. I hope reading how I make stocks and work the job around what I have and when it is convenient to me helped you.

Previous Posts:
Make it at Home
Grocery Shopping
Waste Not, Want Not
Soup
The Celery Stalks at Midnight
Use What You Have
Combining Trips
Storing Bulk Purchases
Turn It Off
Grow Your Own
Buying in Bulk
Gleaning
Entertainment on the Down Low
Finding Fun Locally
Holiday Shopping
Reconsidering Convenience
More Bang for Your Grocery Buck
Preserving the Harvest
Revisiting Kitchen Strategies
Extreme Frugality
Bargain Getaways
Cultivating or Curating Abundance
Making Your Own Snacks and Treats
How Weird Is Too Weird? Things We Don't Think of Eating
Fuel Costs
Quick Hint on Eggs
What's in Your Refrigerator (Revisited)

Labels: Family, Frugality, Homemaking, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 2:45 PM