Chicken Stock
Makes 1 gallon/3.75 liters
8 lb/3.6 chicken bones (meaty)
cut to 3-inch/75mm lengths
6 qt/5.75 L cold water or
remouillage or as needed
Salt (optional) as needed
Mirepoix
8 oz/225 g medium dice onions
4 oz/115 g medium dice carrots
4 oz/115 g medium dice celery
Sachet d'épices, containing
2 to 3 parsley stems,
1/2 tsp/2 ml fresh or dried thyme,
1/2 tsp/2 ml cracked black peppercorns,
1 bay leaf and 1 garlic clove
1. Rinse the bones under cool running water and place in a stockpot.
2. Add cold water or remouillage to cover the bones by about 2 inches. Add salt to taste if desired.
3. Slowly bring the stock to a simmer. Skim the surface as necessary.
4. Simmer for 3 to 4 hours. Add the mirepoix and sachet and continue to simmer the stock 1 more hour, skimming as necessary and tasting from time to time.
5. Strain the stock through a sieve or a colander lined with rinsed cheesecloth. The stock may be used at this point, or it may be properly cooled, labeled, and stored.
Notes:
Replace 2 pounds of the chicken bones with turkey necks
for an extra rich, gelatinous stock.
Add or replace aromatic ingredients to achieve a particular flavor. For example: Ginger, lemongrass, and fresh or dried chiles, juniper berries for game stocks, strongly flavored herbs, such as tarragon or rosemary, wild mushroom stems.
Variations:
White Veal Stock made from veal bones that are gently
simmered with mirepoix and a sachet, was originally called
Ordinary Stock. Simmer for 6 to 8 hours.
White Beef Stock is made by replacing chicken bones with an equal amount of beef bones. Often, chefs like to include a piece of veal shank to add body to the stock. Simmer for 8 to 10 hours.
Stocks for Jus Lié-style Pan Sauces: Brown the bones in a pot. (Chicken is shown here, but other birds and meats can be substituted.) Combine them with just enough stock or water to barely cover and simmer over low heat for 4 to 6 hours (a lesser quantity of liquid is used in relation to the bones than for a regular stock). Brown the mirepoix and tomato paste; add to the stock. Deglaze the pan used to brown the mirepoix with water or wine and add to the stock. Add a bouquet garni or sachet and simmer for 1 hour more.
When making smaller batches of a stock, it is more efficient to brown the bones directly in the pot on top of the stove.
Adding stock to the browned bones produces a very rich stock that is suitable as a sauce base.
The finished stock is strained into a bain-marie. A thickener such as arrowroot can be added as needed when preparing pan sauces.
The Professional Chef, Seventh Edition
By The Culinary Institute of America
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., October 2001
Hardcover, $65.00
ISBN: 0-471-38257-4
Recipe reprinted by permission.
The Professional Chef, Seventh Edition
Recipes
Modified March 2007
