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| title | created | author | keywords | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why I Make Stock Every Sunday (And You Should Too) | 2024-11-28 10:00 | Amelia Fontaine | stock, broth, chicken stock, veal stock, vegetable stock, technique | Chicken, veal, vegetable, and fish stock recipes — the difference between stock and broth, how to freeze it, and what stock makes possible in your cooking. |
Why I Make Stock Every Sunday (And You Should Too)
Stock is not glamorous. It is also not optional if you want to cook seriously. Every great sauce, every braised meat, every risotto, every soup — behind all of them is a question: what liquid are you using? If the answer is water or a stock cube, there is a ceiling on what is possible. Good stock removes that ceiling.
I make stock every Sunday, usually while doing other things. The bones go in the pot, the water goes on, and three hours later I have something that will unlock the whole week's cooking.
Stock vs. Broth: The Actual Difference
These terms are used interchangeably in casual conversation, but they refer to different things.
Stock is made primarily from bones, with or without some meat. The long cooking time (2–6 hours depending on type) extracts gelatin from the collagen in the bones. When chilled, good stock sets to a jelly. This gelatin is what gives sauces their body, their gloss, their ability to coat a spoon.
Broth is made primarily from meat, cooked for a shorter time. It has more flavour from the meat but less body from gelatin. Broths are better for drinking or for light soups; stocks are better for reducing into sauces.
The distinction matters most when reducing. If you reduce a stock to intensify it, the gelatin concentrates and the result is viscous, glossy, and extraordinary. If you reduce a broth to the same degree, you often get something oversalted and thin.
Chicken Stock
This is the most versatile and the one to start with.
Ingredients:
- Roast chicken carcass (or 1–1.5kg raw chicken bones/wings/feet)
- 1 large onion, halved
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
- 1 bay leaf
- A few peppercorns
- Cold water to cover (about 2–2.5 litres)
Method: If using raw bones, roast them at 220°C for 30 minutes until golden (this adds depth and colour). Place everything in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring very slowly to a simmer — this is important; a rapid boil makes the stock cloudy. Skim the grey foam from the surface in the first 15 minutes. Simmer very gently, partially covered, for 3–4 hours. Strain through a fine sieve. Cool completely, then refrigerate; skim the solidified fat from the surface.
Veal (Brown) Stock
The king of stocks. More laborious, more complex, the foundation of the classical French kitchen's grand sauces.
Roast 2kg veal bones (knuckles and necks are best) at 220°C until deeply browned, 45 minutes. Brown 2 onions, 3 carrots, and 3 celery stalks in a large pot until dark. Add the bones and cover with cold water. Simmer 6–8 hours. Strain, reduce by a third.
This stock, reduced by three-quarters, becomes demi-glace — a dark, intensely gelatinous, barely pourable concentrate that transforms any sauce it touches.
Vegetable Stock
Made in 45 minutes. No long cooking required — vegetables release their flavour quickly and can turn bitter if cooked too long.
Onion, carrot, celery, fennel, leek tops, garlic, mushroom stems, parsley stems, peppercorns, bay leaf. No cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli) which add bitterness. Cover with cold water, bring to a simmer, cook 40 minutes. Strain.
Flavour it from the beginning; it will not develop complexity over time like bones do.
Fish Stock
The quickest of all: 20–25 minutes only, or it turns bitter.
Fish frames (the bones and head, with gills removed), leek, onion, fennel, white wine, peppercorns, bay leaf. Add all to cold water, bring to a simmer, skim, cook 20 minutes. Strain.
Freezing
Stock freezes perfectly. For storage efficiency, reduce it by half before freezing — you can always add water when you use it. Freeze in ice cube trays for small amounts (good for pan sauces), in 300ml containers for risotto and soups, and in 1 litre bags for braises. Label with date and type. Use within six months.
What Stock Makes Possible
Once you have good stock in your freezer:
- Pan sauces become 10-minute wonders rather than 45-minute projects
- Risotto tastes completely different (see the spring pea risotto post)
- Braised meats have a depth of flavour impossible to achieve with water
- Soups need almost no other flavouring — the stock does the work
- Rice dishes gain complexity that is impossible to fake
Stock is, at bottom, a patience tax: you invest Sunday morning so that the rest of the week's cooking is easier and better. It is the most productive kitchen habit I know.