It’s November. Which for me means two things:
1. It’s my birthday month! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Make sure you check out the blog on Thursday for a Special Birthday Post!
2. Thanksgiving Prep. Lots of it.
I am The Turkey Maker. I am the one who gets up at 3 am (and 4, and 5, and 6, and 7…) on Thanksgiving morning to roast that bird to gloriously crisp golden brown perfection. And because I brine my bird ahead of time, it is the juiciest, most flavorful bird you’ll ever experience. I also make some kick ass gravy to go along with it.
Drooling yet? Tough. You’ll just have to check back later in the week when I post the recipe.
HA! Don’t you hate teasers? Me too.
One of the very first things I do, long before I can even start on the bird, is make stock. I rarely use the boxed or canned stuff anymore because it’s way too salty and it’s expensive. And by expensive I mean it’s not free. As in, homemade in my own kitchen, from leftovers.
Seriously guys, this is so simple you will cry when you find out you’ve been throwing money out the window. There’s not even really a recipe for it, just a few habits to get yourself into.
1. Keep two big freezer bags constantly in your freezer labeled individually: Vegetables and Bones. Whenever you are prepping veggies for dinner, throw carrot tops, onion roots, broccoli stems, etc into the veggie bag (just stay away from really bitter or strong stuff like cabbage or greens). When you roast a chicken, put the carcass in the bones bag.
2. When you’re ready to make stock, put the contents of both bags into a large crockpot, and fill with water. Add one Tbsp of red wine vinegar. This sounds weird, but it’s a trick to help leach out the minerals in the bones. You won’t taste the vinegar in the stock.
3. Cook on low for 24-48 hours. Obviously the longer it cooks, the deeper the flavor will be. Stir every so often, and taste, so you know where the flavor is at.
4. Strain all of the solids out, then put stock into fridge overnight, covered. I would recommend doing this in big clear bowl, something you can see through. You’ll see why in the next step.
5. The next day, all of the fat will have risen to the top and solidified. The stock underneath will be a gelatinous consistency. Carefully remove fat layer with a spoon and discard.
6. At this point, I measure 1 cup servings of the stock and package in zip lock bags, then freeze flat. This makes it easy for me to grab and thaw whenever I need to later, and I always know exactly how much I’m getting. Divy up however makes sense to you.
The volume you make is going to depend on the volume of your crockpot. In the past, I usually came out with 8 cups, but I have a new crockpot, so we’ll see how much it comes out with. Also, this method doesn’t necessarily breed consistency, because I’m using scraps from my kitchen. That IS a benefit of using canned or boxed stock, but once you do this a couple of times you will learn what works for you.
Also….my kitchen smells pretty wonderful right now, just an FYI.
Mrs. M
Chasing After Gold Mines 