Making Your Own Stock

Vegetable Stock

2 cups onion

1 cup celery

1 cup carrots

6 cups cold water

Cheesecloth  (found in the craft area at Wal-mart)

5 stems from fresh Italian parsley

8 peppercorns

1 garlic clove

¼ tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

1. Rough chop onion, celery and carrots about ¼ inch pieces.   No need to peal the onion and carrots.  Just remove any bad spots.  Also, you can use the leafy parts of the celery.  Place in stock pot and cover with cold water.
2. Make a spice sachet by cutting a piece of cheesecloth about 1 foot long.  Don’t unfold the cloth.  Cut the parsley stems to about ¼ inch pieces. Crush the peppercorns. (If you have a large chef knife, lay the knife flat on the peppercorns facing away from you and hit it with your hand. If you do not have a chef knife, place the peppercorns in a plastic bag and use a mallet).  Crush the bay leaf and the garlic clove.  Place all spices in the center of the cheesecloth and tie together by pulling up the opposite corners or use twine.
3. Place the sachet in the water with the vegetables and simmer covered for about 2 hours.  Do not stir, if you do it will become cloudy.  Make sure the water covers all the vegetables.  If not, add more water.  When done simmering, remove all the vegetables and sachet from the water.  Strain the stock through cheesecloth and cool. 
4. You can freeze the stock in ice trays or 1 cup containers and keep in baggies for easy use in all your soups.  This recipe does not have any salt so it will appear to be bland but you can control the sodium better when you use a salt free stock. 

• If you would like to make a chicken stock, remove the meat from uncooked chicken and use the bones in the stock. You will need more water to cover the chicken bones and cook for 6 to 8 hours on simmer (overnight is good). Make sure the water is cold and you do not boil when starting otherwise you will leach the impurities out of the bones and get a cloudy stock.
• To make a beef stock, take a couple pounds of beef bones (can get from your butcher) and brown the bones by baking in the oven for 1 hour on 350 degrees. After one hour, take the vegetables (onion, celery and carrots) and mix one can of tomato paste with them then bake for an additional 30 min.  After bones and veggies are browned, add to stockpot with cold water along with spices and bring to a gentle simmer for 8-10 hours.  
• For each type of stock, make sure to strain through the cheesecloth and cool as quickly as you can.  Best way is to put in large container or another stockpot and place in an ice bath in your sink. Bring down to at least room temp before putting the stock in the fridge or freezer. If you place directly in your fridge or freezer, it will bring the temp up for all the rest of your food and may cause spoilage.   

Enjoy.