Sunday Recipe. . .

One of the most useful ingredients to have on hand in the kitchen is chicken stock. A well-prepared stock can propel your cooking to heights rarely visited in the home kitchen. Chicken stock can be used in a myriad of preparations and instantly adds depth of flavor to sauces, soups and vegetables.



I hear people moaning already, "oh, I just don't have time time" or "it's so much easier the use chicken broth from a can" to which I retort, please kill yourself immediately.

Other than the initial preparation of the ingredients and maintaining vigil for the first fifteen minutes, more or less you can turn it on and forget it.

First we will add a new word to our vocabulary: mirepoix.

Mirepoix is a mixture of vegetables used to enhance the flavor of stocks and not just chicken. Mirepoix is used in vegetable stock (imagine that!), veal stock, beef stock, fish stock, shrimp stock, etc. Mirepoix is typically carrots, celery and onion, although one could add leeks (white part only) or mushrooms trimmings for additional flavor if desired. The proportion of mirepoix to bones is approximately 1 pound of mirepoix to 4 pounds of bones. And the proportioning of the mirepoix is usually 50% onion, 25% carrot, 25% celery. I usually go a little light on the carrot as it has a very strong flavor and can take over the characteristics of a stock very easily.

So we have our chicken bones and our mirepoix, now what?

To begin, we cover the bones with cold water and heat to just boiling then reduce to medium or medium low heat to simmer. Once the water begins to heat, the bones will release different and various proteins that will congeal into a nice funky froth at the stock's surface. This by far is the most imporatnt step. Never BOIL your stock becuase all of that lovely meat funk will end up microscopically dispersed throughout the stock and will render your stock a disgusting shade of cloud.

Anyway, once the scum rises to the top, it is imperative that you remove it with a ladle. The French call this "depouillage" and it's neat that they have a cool word for what we Americans call "skimming the scum". Gross. So, continue skimming until you have removed most of the froth and some of the fat. More fat will render as your stock simmers, so an occasional skim from time to time is necessary.

Once the initial skim has been made, then you may introduce your mirepoix into the stock. A few other ingredients used in most stocks are fresh thyme, toes of garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns and one or two whole cloves. These items may be added in with the mirepoix.

Now what? Well, go drink a beer or something and in 4 to 6 hours your stock will be finished. Strain the stock, refrigerate or freeze for later use. Congratulations! You're on your way to being an accomplished cook! You do want to be an accomplished cook don't you? It's every shoemaker's dream.