THE BLUE VERVAIN KITCHEN

9. CHICKEN STOCK FUNDAMENTALS

Wine, garlic, pesto and a rich hearty stock are the most important items in my kitchen.

This is another peek into my particular way of doing kitchen things. Hopefully, you will discover some useful stuff.

Basics: This stock will will never be replicated as I have no desire, need or ability to make the same thing twice.

When it comes to stock or broth, some people prefer clear and delicate. I’m not of that camp. Hints of this or hints of that don’t appeal to me. I want a stock that gets up and walks and uses a lot of profanity.

The reason is simple. If I want something delicate, I can just thin it out a little. If I want it bold I’ll use it straight. If I start with wimpy I’m stuck with wimpy.

TURMERIC (curcumin): You have probably noticed by now that Carol Ann and I use a relatively large amount of this stuff.  Besides its purported health benefits (research is advised) we love the color and flavor.  Apparently, to derive benefit from it requires an appropriate amount of ground black pepper as a companion – so I’m told. Good thing for us that we buy Tellicherry by the pound.

Rough cut the vegetables. Don’t peel the onion as its skin imparts a beautiful color. The plate contains turmeric, a large dry chipotle pepper, some allspice, cloves, Tellicherry pepper corns and a cinnamon stick – all determined on the spur of the moment…  Could be from an endless list of things and proportions or just an authentic mirepoix. 

NOTE: Never add salt to a stock. Salt to taste only when it’s being used for a specific purpose. Here’s why. You may choose to do a stock reduction for a sauce or something like that. The water will evaporate, but the salt will not and when you taste your beautiful creation it will remind you of that bad day down on the Gulf of Mexico, only worse. I did that ONCE.

Chopping up the fennel and using some of the green.

In with the spice stuff.

This is where it transitions to a chicken stock. Could have easily remained an all vegetable stock.

Check out the carcass roasting in essay 8 (stretch a chicken).

Ain’t it puurty?

A gallon of water reaches the fill line.

I going to do my first phase pressure cook for 50 minutes on PROG one.

This All-clad stove top pressure cooker is one of my favorite kitchen tools.  It performs perfectly and has saved me countless hours of time and guess work.  I love this machine.

After 50 minutes..

Now I beat the hell out of everything until it begins to break down nicely.

Now it’s ready to re-seal and return to the stove top for the second round.

I’m going to let the second round go for thirty minutes. The object is to strangle every last bit of good stuff I can into of the brew.

Like this.

Now we need cheese cloth, a bowl, a colander, a large mesh scoop, a ladle and a degreaser.

Cut and rinse the cheese cloth and tuck the corners between the colander and the bowl it’s sitting in. With the large screen scoop, transfer the solids into the colander.

Like this.

and this...

Now carefully and slowly pour the liquor over the goo so it can begin to seep into the bowl below.

This can take a while so I help it along with my hands or whatever is handy which allows me to press without making a mess or having an accident.

Like playing in the mud.

This looks pretty good but a considerable amount of liquid remains within the vegetables and I want all the juice.

Take two opposing corners and start tying up the bundle.

Same with the other corners.

Avoid squeezing this cheese cloth ball as fine little streams of liquid will squirt everywhere – a nasty mess for sure.

Instead, try this. Drop the nicely bundled bag of goo into a gallon baggie and massage it to release the liquid. Hold in the right position and snip off an end of the bag to release the reservoir. Depending on your level of compulsion, continue squeezing…

Now comes the de-greasing. This is important (assuming you know how to do it). While there is a second stage of degreasing (later), this process is very helpful.

Transfer into your container(s) of choice. I always prefer glass and have a large supply of Ball Jars and lids of various sizes. Not just for stock – almost everything I store goes into glass. Except for the freezer.

Here are four quarts of a stock that you can’t buy at any price. The cost was an onion, some carrots, some fennel, some celery, a couple of garlic heads and some spices along with a chicken carcass which most people would throw into the garbage. No charge for the water plus my time is free and I get to do wine and music at the same time. A very good deal.

I can’t remember the wine but my musical companions that afternoon were Jacqueline Du Pré and Daniel Barenboim celebrating Beethoven’s five cello sonatas. A 1970 Edinburg Festival recording. A magnificent recording.

After sitting in the fridge for a while this stock will divide into three layers. A very shallow bottom layer of sludge, a beautiful mid-section of pure stock and a top layer of floating fat, scum and crud which is easily removed when cold.

I use a small ladle to remove the floating stuff, carefully pour off the stock until I reach the bottom sludge. I can then rinse out the jar and pour the pure stuff back in and it’s ready to use for whatever

I’ll be using some of this stock for the upcoming cannellini basics (essay 12) and quick chicken soup (essay 13).

MORE BLUE VERVAIN KITCHEN ESSAYS

6. easy reach vegetables

7. peel an egg

8. stretch a chicken

9. chicken stock fundamentals

10. motley salmon

11. crazy pretzels

12. cannellini basics

13. quick chicken soup

14. a dinner surprise

Thanks for visiting with me.

Paul V’Soske

Return to BOOK ONE essay index

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