Megan Makes Stock
“Good stock makes everything better.”
It feels very Ina Garten of me to be a proponent of homemade stock. When I first started cooking, the idea of keeping quarts of homemade stock in my freezer seemed excessive. Eventually, I was guilted in after too many episodes of Barefoot Contessa. I finally started making stock at home and haven't looked back.
Vegetable stock in its most basic form is veggies that have been simmered in water. That's it. Most stock will include onions, carrots, celery and garlic. I love adding fennel, mushrooms, leeks or ginger. But you can really toss in whatever you want. It's also a great way to use veggie scraps leftover from other meals. Start keeping a bag in your freezer of carrot pieces, dark green parts of leeks, ends of onions, the outside layers of fennel, etc. It's a great habit to get into, and your stock will thank you.
After a few years of making stock at home, I ran across a video from Bon Appetit last Thanksgiving about making vegan broth. While I don't find myself needing vegan stock all too often, the technique adds so much flavor and depth to any kind of stock.
The trick is to thinly slice all your veggies, then roast them until they are golden, brown and delicious - 400° for 45-60 minutes. Once they are nice and caramelized, transfer them to a big ole pot, pour in 12 cups of water and let it simmer and bubble away. Add in some black peppercorns, a Parm rind (another thing to stock up in your freezer) and whatever herbs you have on hand. If keeping meat-free isn’t an issue, throw in a ham bone, leftover rotisserie chicken carcass or turkey pieces. Yes, I am that girl that asks to keep the scraps and bones from most holiday dinners and freezes them for future stock.
After roasting a pan of veggies, there are yummy caramelized bits that get stuck to the pan. Pour a splash of your 12 cups of water in the pan and scrape the bits up with a spatula. Then grab a potholder and (carefully) pour that fortified water into the pot. You are cleaning your pan and adding flavor at the same time! Go you.
Once it's simmer for about an hour, turn it off the heat, spoon out the big chunks of veggies, then strain out the beautiful stock. Pour them into containers and pop them in the freezer. Use it when making grains, soups, sauces or just drink it. I don’t care. You do you.
