Sauce, Part 3: Beef, Chicken and Fish Stock

It is time for the next article in my series about sauces. This time we move from theory into the kitchen with practical methods and recipes. We will begin with stock: a good stock is the foundation not only of many sauces, but also of soups and several starters in its own right.

You need very little equipment to make good stock. To make an exceptionally clear and refined one, you need a little more knowledge, time and care.

Useful equipment

• A large, sturdy pot
• A roasting tin
• A wooden spoon
• A sieve
• Muslin or another fine cloth for filtering

Beef stock

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg marrow bones, oxtail and other beef bones with some meat attached
• 200 g carrots, roughly chopped
• 100 g yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 250 ml dry white wine
• 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
• 6 peeled, deseeded tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 bouquet garni: a sprig of thyme, a few bay leaves and a sprig of parsley wrapped in a leek leaf and tied with kitchen string
• 3 litres cold water

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. Place the bones and meat in a roasting tin and roast for about 40 minutes, turning occasionally, until well browned.
3. Add the carrots and onion, mix and roast for another five minutes.
4. Transfer everything to a large pot and pour off the excess fat. Deglaze the roasting tin with the wine, scraping up all the browned flavour from the base. Reduce the wine by about half and add it to the pot.
5. Add the cold water and bring to the boil over high heat. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes, then skim away the foam and impurities that rise to the surface.
6. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for about 2½ hours. Keep the heat gentle and skim when necessary.
7. Strain through a fine sieve or a sieve lined with muslin.

You now have an excellent stock for sauces and soups, although it may still be slightly cloudy.

A simple way to clarify stock

A classical consommé is usually clarified with egg whites and a carefully made clarification raft. There is also a simpler freeze-filtration method, although it takes time.

Pour the stock into a shallow tray and freeze it. If you have a chamber vacuum sealer, you can instead seal the stock in a bag and freeze it flat.

Well before serving, release the frozen block and place it in a large, fine sieve lined with muslin. Let it thaw slowly in the refrigerator over a clean bowl. The liquid that passes through will be much clearer, while much of the sediment and gelatin remains in the cloth. If it is not clear enough, the process can be repeated.

Chicken stock

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken wings
• 200 g carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 leeks, white parts only, roughly chopped
• 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
• 1 onion studded with 2 cloves
• 150 g mushrooms, sliced very thinly
• 1 bouquet garni
• 150 g skimmed milk powder
• 2.5 litres water

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. Spread the chicken wings in a roasting tin and roast until golden, turning them so they brown evenly. Add the milk powder halfway through, mix thoroughly and continue roasting until everything is deeply golden and the wings are cooked through.
3. Transfer everything to a pot. Deglaze the roasting tin with a little water and add that liquid to the pot.
4. Add 2.5 litres of water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes, then skim.
5. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer gently for 2½ hours, skimming when necessary.
6. Strain through a fine sieve or a sieve lined with muslin.

This method differs from a traditional white chicken stock, which often uses carcasses and may include white wine. Chicken wings contain plenty of protein and collagen, giving the stock body and flavour. Milk powder adds extra milk proteins, encouraging browning and the Maillard reactions that create the roasted flavour we are looking for.

Some older versions of this method blanch the wings first. That is optional and is not a substitute for ordinary raw-chicken hygiene: keep raw poultry separate from ready-to-eat food, wash hands and utensils thoroughly, and cook and chill the stock safely.

Fish stock

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg bones and trimmings from lean white fish
• 50 g butter
• 2 leeks, white parts only, very finely sliced
• 75 g yellow onion, very finely sliced
• 75 g mushrooms, very finely sliced
• 200 ml dry white wine
• 1 bouquet garni
• 2 slices lemon
• 8 white peppercorns, crushed and tied in muslin
• 2.5 litres water

Method

1. Clean the fish bones and trimmings under cold running water, removing blood and gills.
2. Melt the butter and gently sweat the vegetables in a pot for a few minutes without colouring them.
3. Add the fish and cook gently for a few moments. Add the wine and reduce by two-thirds, then add the water.
4. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and skim. Add the bouquet garni and lemon slices.
5. Simmer very gently for 25 minutes, skimming when needed. Add the peppercorns after 15 minutes.
6. Strain through a fine conical sieve, or a sieve lined with muslin.

Storage and reductions

Cool stock quickly in shallow containers and refrigerate promptly. As a practical rule, use meat or chicken stock within three to four days and fish stock within one to two days, or freeze it for up to three months. If in doubt, freeze it as soon as it is cold.

Reducing stock concentrates both flavour and gelatin. A glace de viande is stock reduced much further until glossy and intensely flavoured. Classical demi-glace is traditionally made from brown sauce and brown stock, reduced together; in modern kitchens the term is also sometimes used more loosely for a strongly reduced brown stock.

Next time, we will put the stock to good use.