The essence to a great sauce is a great stock. Veal, beef, chicken, vegetable and fish, all components to creating the perfect sauce. Below are the steps I used to make a roasted brown stock using chicken bones. Something that can be used to create the ultimate gravy for Thanksgiving.
The french called my step one, mirepoix. A combination of carrots, onions and celery. For this stock, I used 2lb baby carrots, 2lb thick cut celery, and 4lb thick cut spanish onions. Place these in the bottom of a roasting pan.
For the chicken, I purchased two roasting chickens, broke them down to breasts, legs and thighs, then wrapped them and put them into the freezer for later use. The carcass of the two chickens was then broken in half using the back side of my chef knife. I lightly coated the whole pan of mirepoix and chicken bones in olive oil and placed into a 425 degree oven. Every hour I opened up the oven and tossed the bones and vegetables to help evenly brown everything.
After about 3 hours, I coated the bones with one small can of tomato paste and then placed back into the oven for another hour.
One the roasting is done, it should look something like the picture above.
Now everything is placed in a good stock pot. Place 20 black peppercorns, 15 sprigs of parsley, 8 sprigs of thyme, and five garlic cloves into the pot.
Fill the pot with water until everything is just covered. Simmer for another 3 to 4 hours.
Once complete, it will look something like this.
Next strain the stock with fine mesh strainer into a smaller stock pot. If you want to get really classy, use some cheese cloth. Ensure all the liquid drains. You may need to use a spoon to help drain all the liquid. Cool in an ice bath or in the fridge over night so the fat solidifies and rises to the top.
The next day, pull out from fridge so the fat can be skimmed off.
Use a spoon to clear the fat off. I recommend once this is done, to place the stock back onto the stove and let it simmer until it reduces by 1/4th. This will concentrate the flavor a touch more and make it a little thicker.
Once complete it will look like the picture above. You should get about 2 2/3 qts of stock. Notice one key ingredient not listed, Salt. You do not salt stock. Salt is added when completing a sauce or gravy. Enjoy, and have a great Thanksgiving.
The essence to a great sauce is a great stock. Veal, beef, chicken, vegetable and fish, all components to creating the perfect sauce. Below are the steps I used to make a roasted brown stock using chicken bones. Something that can be used to create the ultimate gravy for Thanksgiving.
The french called my step one, mirepoix. A combination of carrots, onions and celery. For this stock, I used 2lb baby carrots, 2lb thick cut celery, and 4lb thick cut spanish onions. Place these in the bottom of a roasting pan.
For the chicken, I purchased two roasting chickens, broke them down to breasts, legs and thighs, then wrapped them and put them into the freezer for later use. The carcass of the two chickens was then broken in half using the back side of my chef knife. I lightly coated the whole pan of mirepoix and chicken bones in olive oil and placed into a 425 degree oven. Every hour I opened up the oven and tossed the bones and vegetables to help evenly brown everything.
After about 3 hours, I coated the bones with one small can of tomato paste and then placed back into the oven for another hour.
One the roasting is done, it should look something like the picture above.
Now everything is placed in a good stock pot. Place 20 black peppercorns, 15 sprigs of parsley, 8 sprigs of thyme, and five garlic cloves into the pot.
Fill the pot with water until everything is just covered. Simmer for another 3 to 4 hours.
Once complete, it will look something like this.
Next strain the stock with fine mesh strainer into a smaller stock pot. If you want to get really classy, use some cheese cloth. Ensure all the liquid drains. You may need to use a spoon to help drain all the liquid. Cool in an ice bath or in the fridge over night so the fat solidifies and rises to the top.
The next day, pull out from fridge so the fat can be skimmed off.
Use a spoon to clear the fat off. I recommend once this is done, to place the stock back onto the stove and let it simmer until it reduces by 1/4th. This will concentrate the flavor a touch more and make it a little thicker.
Once complete it will look like the picture above. You should get about 2 2/3 qts of stock. Notice one key ingredient not listed, Salt. You do not salt stock. Salt is added when completing a sauce or gravy. Enjoy, and have a great Thanksgiving.
