Brown Stock, Oven Edition

Rich brown stock made from roasted beef bones and caramelized vegetables is a kitchen essential. Besides brown gravy and demi-glace it is the base for many soups, notably French onion. Granted, one can buy rather good beef stock in the supermarket—salt-free versions are becoming more commonplace—but making your own is easy and the result is better than store-bought. This recipe where the stock cooks overnight in the oven even relieves of having to hover over a stock pot for hours. And because the stock steeps at just below the boiling point instead of simmering, it comes out clear and is easy to de-fat. I portion the finished product into one-quart screw-top plastic containers and freeze it for several months.

Note: have your butcher cut the beef bones into piece 5 cm (2”) to 10 cm (4”) long; shorter is better.

Yield: about four quarts

Ingredients
Beef marrow bones	1.5 kilogram	6 pounds
Mirepoix*	1 kilogram	2 pounds
Tomato, diced**	225 grams	8 ounces
Cold water	6 liters	6 quarts
Herb sachet	See method	See method

*mirepoix consists of diced onion, carrot, and celery in 2:1:1 proportions

**in place of tomatoes you can use 2 tablespoons (30 ml) tomato paste, adding it to the cold water

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).

Place the bones in a single layer in a roasting pan. Spread the mirepoix and tomatoes evenly in a second roasting pan. Place both into the hot oven turning the bones and stirring the vegetables from time to time.

After an hour remove the pans from oven. Transfer the bones to a large stock pot. Pour off all but a quarter cup of fat from the roasting pan that had the bones in it and move the vegetables into it. Place over two stovetop burners on medium-high heat. Stir until the vegetables are well caramelized but not burnt. Add the vegetables to the stockpot. Deglaze the pan(s) with part of the cold water and add to the pot along with the rest of the water.

Turn the oven down to 205°F (96°C).

Prepare a sachet by tying 2 bay leaves, 2 or 3 crushed garlic cloves, 2 sprigs fresh or ½ teaspoon (3 ml) dried thyme, 6 sprigs fresh or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) dried parsley, and 8 to 10 crushed black peppercorns in a piece of cheesecloth (unless you have a giant tea ball, as I do) and add it to the stock. Bring the stock just to a boil and place the pot, uncovered, into the oven. Steep for eight to twelve hours but no more.

When the stock is done, strain it into a very large bowl. Clean out the stock pot then set bowl into your kitchen sink with the drain closed. Fill a small, deep saucepan with ice and water then place it into the stock. Run cold water into the sink to the depth of the stock in the bowl. Stir the water around to cool the stock as quickly as possible. The idea is to minimize the amount of time it spends in the danger zone between 140°F (60°C) and 40°F (5°C). Pour the cooled stock back into the stock pot and refrigerate. (Of course, in the winter you can just put the pot out into the snow!)

When well cooled, defat the stock and, if you like, strain it again, this time through cheese cloth. Dispense into suitable containers and freeze for up to several months.

Fish Stock

Stocks are indispensable in the kitchen. They are the base for soups, risottos, sauces, and gravies. And, if you are like me and hate to waste things, they are great cleansers of the soul because many things that might otherwise be consigned to the garbage get a last chance to shine. Indeed, the best stocks are made from odds and ends along with a few panty basics. For this stock I used a salmon head, shrimp tails and shells, and stems from shiitake mushrooms. The head I bought for the purpose but the rest were trimmings that I collected in a bag in the freezer. Most cookbooks will tell you that salmon is to be avoided for fish stock because of its distinctive flavor. Personally, I do not mind that flavor and anyway salmon heads are pretty much all I can get. One should remove the gills lest they impart bitterness to the stock but I have forgotten to no ill effect.  I make my stock in a pressure cooker for speed and convenience but do not let the lack of such a device dissuade you from making stock. Just double or treble the cooking time. Note that the quantities in the recipe are rather vague. There is really no magic formula; use what you have at hand. If the stock is too intense, water it down; if too weak, boil it down a bit. Even a watery stock is better than plain water.

Ingredients
Fish head and/or bones	1½ to 2 pounds	700 to 1000 grams
Shrimp, crab, or lobster shells	½ to 1 pound	250 to 500 grams
Mushroom stems	2 ounces	70 grams
Onion, coarsely chopped	1 medium	1 medium
Carrot, coarsely chopped	2 small	2 small
Celery, coarsely chopped	1 stalk	1 stalk
Bouquet garni
Bay leaves	2	2
Black peppercorns	8 to 12	8 to 12
Thyme	sprig	sprig
Parsley	Sprig	sprig

Method

Rinse the fish head and remove the gills (or have your fishmonger do it). Put into pressure cooker vessel. Add the crustacean shells, mushroom trimmings, and vegetables. Put the ingredients for the bouquet garni into a large tea ball or tie in a bit of cheesecloth and add to the pot. Cover with water to the limit set by the pressure cooker manufacturers—in mine that is 16 cups. Cook at high pressure (15 psi, 103 kPa) for 30 minutes. Allow the cooker to cool for about 15 minutes. Release pressure according to manufacturer’s instructions. Pour the stock through a colander into a large bowl then filter through cheesecloth or a reusable coffee filter into suitable storage containers—I use 1 quart screw top plastic freezer containers. Freeze for up to several months.

The Joy of Duck

The next time you buy a duck do not be tempted to take the easy way out by roasting it in one piece because with this bird the sum of the parts is ever so much more than the whole. Here is an approach to turning a duck into a fine meal while adding some fine ingredients to the refrigerator and freezer. You can find more information including instructional videos at the Maple Leaf Farms Web site.

1)  Cut up the duck

If you are skilled at cutting up a chicken, disassembling a duck will pose no problems. First remove the legs where the thigh attaches to the body. Leave the thigh and drumstick together. Then remove the wings. Now, with the breast up, cut along the sternum and down along the ribs to remove one breast. Repeat of the other side. Finally remove as much of the loose skin as possible from the back and set aside to render but leave the skin on the breasts and legs. Chop or cut the back into convenient size pieces for making stock.

2)  Make duck stock

Preheat oven to 400°F and roast the back, neck, and wings for 30 minutes turning occasionally. Add to a pressure cooker along with 1 coarsely chopped onion, a chopped carrot, a cut-up celery stalk, and the giblets. Toss in a bouquet garnis containing a bay leaf, half a dozen whole black peppercorns, and a sprig each of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Fill the cooker with cold water according to the manufacturer’s instruction—in mine the total comes to 16 cups. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. When the pressure has subsided open the cooker, again according to the manufacturer’s instructions, strain and let sit until the fat rises to the top. Skim and reserve the fat.

If you do not have a pressure cooker, use a large stock pot and simmer for 3 or 4 hours. You can also skip the browning step if you prefer a white stock.

3)  Render the duck fat

Besides being delicious, duck fat is a healthy alternative to butter. Duck fat contains 50.5% monounsaturated fats, 35.7% saturated fats, and 13.7% polyunsaturated fats compares to olive oil which is 75% monounsaturates, 13% saturates, and 12% polyunsaturates or butter with 21% monounsaturates, 51% saturates, and 3% polyunsaturates. There are two ways to render duck fat: in a fry pan and in water. The latter method, ironically, results in fat with less water and thus a longer shelf live. To render the fat simply put the duck skin and any loose fat into a heavy pot and cover with an inch of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the water has evaporated and the fat is clear. Strain the fat into a suitable container and store in the refrigerator or freezer. Do not discard the bits of skin; make cracklings by frying them in a skillet with a bit of the duck fat.

4)  Make duck confit

Sprinkle the meat side of each leg with salt. Cover one leg with 3 or 4 cloves of crushed garlic. Place the other leg on top so that the pieces are meat-to-meat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 or 2 days. Scrape off the salt and garlic then put the legs in a shallow baking dish. Place the dish in a 200° oven for about 3 hours or until the meat falls from the bones. Allow to rest until cool enough to handle then remove the meat from the bones in large pieces and place in a glass jar. Pour the rendered fat over the meat adding more if needed to cover by 1 inch. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

5)  Cook the duck breasts

Here is the generic recipe for cooking duck breasts: Preheat the oven to 400°. With a sharp knife score the breasts at an angle cutting through the skin into the fat layer but not into the meat. The cuts should be about ¼ inch apart. Repeat at right angles to the first series of cuts. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a dry, oven-proof, non-stick skillet until very hot. Place the duck breasts in the skillet skin side down. Place in the hot oven and finish to taste, about 20 minutes for medium well. Rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Making Stock in the Oven

Making stock is one of the basic skills that every serious cook should master. Even if you do not want to go the trouble of making brown stock, you really should make your own chicken stock. Not only is it superior in flavor to store-bought but it is nearly free. Instead of discarding the backs, wing tips, and other bones that you have left over from making other chicken dishes collect them in a large freezer bag until you have enough for a large pot of stock—about 4 pounds. The one problem with making stock is that if you have a gas cooktop, as I do, you are stuck in the house for the five or six hours it takes to simmer. Today it occurred to me to try making it in a slow oven instead. Since my oven is electric I can safely leave it to run errands. Bring the pot to a boil on the stovetop and skim off the foam that forms then put it into the oven at between 225°F and 250°F which will keep it a gentle simmer. My oven has a slow cook feature that, on low, maintains the temperature in that range or you can simply set your oven on bake at an appropriate temperature.