Homemade Stock Recipes

Steps:

• Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs and spices in 12-quart stockpot. Set opened steamer basket directly on ingredients in pot and pour over water. Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.
• Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees. Place in refrigerator overnight. Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.

Steps:

• Tip everything into a large saucepan with a pinch of salt then cover with 2 litres of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 hours. Pass through a sieve and use for your intended recipe. Will keep in the fridge for a week and for six months in the freezer.

Steps:

• Reserve any parts that you are trimming off or peeling away (including tops, bottoms, skins, and stems) from the vegetables and herbs suggested above. (Avoid scraps from vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or cauliflower, as their strong flavors can overpower your stock.) Place the scraps in a one-gallon airtight storage container, and keep them in the freezer for up to six months. You can add many other vegetable and herb scraps, including corn cobs, winter squash, zucchini, summer squash, beet greens, fennel fronds, chard stems, lettuce, parsnips, green beans, pea pods, bell peppers, eggplant, asparagus, and herbs like dill, thyme, parsley, cilantro, and basil.
• Keep adding scraps until the storage container is full.
• Transfer the contents of the container into a large pot and fill three-quarters of the pot (or until the scraps just start to float) with water.
• Bring water to a boil and then let it simmer for 30 minutes.
• Using a sieve, strain the stock to remove the solids. Let stock cool completely.
• Stock can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Save a gallon freezer bag in your freezer.
• Wash all stock ingredients well before peeling.
• As you use your vegetables, chicken, or beef, save the peels, ends, leaves, skins, wing tips etc and place them in separate bags in your freezer. Keep a vegetable bag, a chicken bag and a beef bag. Your vegetable bag will fill the fastest and beef the slowest.
• Once you have a full bag of mixed vegetables, place them all in a large stockpot or a crock pot.
• Pour the water over your ingredients and add the bay leaf, peppercorns and any other herb or spice that you desire.
• If you don't have much garlic or parsley in your freezer bag, then add more if desired. If you have too much, it is not necessary to use it all. Just use what you desire for the flavor you wish to achieve.
• If making meat stock, add meat pieces and bones to the vegetables.
• If using a stockpot, bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours until vegetables are very soft.
• If using a crock pot, cover and cook on low overnight or for 6 to 8 hours.
• Strain stock through a colander to remove vegetables and herbs.
• Strain stock again through doubled layers of cheesecloth to remove all other small particles if desired.
• Stock can be reduced even further if desired or place in quart freezer bags, date and note the contents.
• Stock can be kept up to 6 months in your freezer.
• For Vegetarian and Vegan omit the beef and chicken.