Stock Tip

Buy low, sell high…just kidding! When you cook your one chicken every couple of weeks, or bone out thighs for a special dish, you’re left with bits and parts that- by themselves- are not much use to you. You would need a lot more of that to make a decent stock. How about you keep a gallon Ziploc in the freezer and add these tasty bits to it? Backs, wings, skin and bones all make great stock. After a while, you will have a bag just right to make a great stock!

Now that you have the right amount of components, you are again faced with a storage issue. Sure you can make a gallon of stock, but where you gonna put it? You can pour it off into quart Ziploc and freeze it, or preserve it by canning it, but both those options lead to consuming large amounts of space. Easy solution… make it smaller!

I like to start by taking all those parts I’ve saved up and tossing them in a roasting pan. Throw in a chopped up onion, carrot or two and those 3 ribs of celery that have been slowly dying in the bottom of your crisper. Sprinkle generously with olive oil and roast at 425 for about 30 min or until you get a nice caramel color to them.

All that does is create more flavor. Now toss everything in your stock pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and let ‘er go. Simmer your stock down over a day or two until you have a rich, syrupy concentrate. You’re done when it coasts the back of a spoon (I know, Foodie Freddy, the technical term is Nappe. We just aren’t that fancy ’round here.). Now, pour it into ice cube trays and freeze. Bust ’em out and store alllll that stock in one Gallon ziplock. Whenever you need stock, grab a cube, heat with a quart of water, salt and pepper to taste and laugh at the inventor of the granular bullion cube.