Take Stock
Whenever I make stock, I’m reminded of 'Stone Soup' - the tale of a stranger who gets an unwitting cook to make him dinner by pretending he has a magical stone.
But there’s another version of this story that I feel is particularly pertinent to share.
A stranger comes to town, going door to door, asking for a meal. Except this is a poor town to begin with, and each home hardly has enough for themselves, let alone this new arrival.
As he knocks on the door of the final house, he is struck by an idea. “Have you any onion skins left over from making dinner?” He asks. The lady of the house, barely managing to contain her curiosity, walks over to bench, picks the skins out of her kitchen scraps and hands them over. “And what, pray tell, will you be doing with these?”
To which the stranger reveals a stone from behind his back, which looks entirely ordinary, if the lady is to be honest, yet proceeds to tell her about the magical properties of this stone. “If you can fetch a pail of water from next door, I’ll show you what it can do.”
He sets the pail of water over a makeshift fire in the centre of town and begins simmering away at the stone, and onion skins, tasting as he goes.
The longer this goes on, the more townsfolk gather, wondering what could possibly be so magical about this stone. “It’s tasting pretty good,” says the stranger, “but it could use a bone or two”.
The butcher returns with some marrow bones he’d been holding onto for the dog. “Anyone got a carrot peel or two?” Asks the stranger, tasting the stone soup and gazing off into the middle distance. “Some celery tops would really lift this,” and on he goes.
Eventually, the stranger is satisfied, sharing a spoonful of his pail with the transfixed townsfolk, who are awestruck by the magical stone and its magnificent soup-making properties.
“How do we get ourselves such a stone?” They implore, licking their lips and rubbing their hands together. “You can keep it,” says the stranger, “as long as you share it. The stone only works when people add to it what they can.” “Of course!” They cry, eager to seal the deal. “And what can we possibly give you in return?”
Patting his satisfied belly, the stranger replies, “This pail will do quite nicely,” giving it a pat-pat for good measure. With that, off he trots to the next town, keeping an eye out for magical rocks along the way.
And from this day forward, the townsfolk stop thinking of themselves as poor. For they have a magical soup stone, and each other for company in the town square, as it simmers away with their scraps.
What's most contagious of all is the attitude of the people you're surrounded by. Selfishness at the shops, anxiety in the media, panic at the disco. And yet by the same token, the generosity of spirit and community mindedness that is also peeking through the clouds like shining slivers of hope for us all catches on just as quickly if we give it the chance.
Making chicken soup has always been my contribution to anyone that's in need of some silver lining around me - and what I do when I'm in need of some TLC myself. Which is what brings us full circle. I can't send you all a tub of soup IRL, but I can give you some tips, and I hope that's enough for now.
Here are 6 tips for making stock - magical stone optional.
Prep your protein: Making stock is a great way of ensuring that you get every last bit of value from your protein purchases. But of course, it's important to ensure that your off-cuts and/or leftovers are appropriately ready for action.
Beef, veal or lamb: roast off the bones until golden brown.
Chicken: this can be used raw or cooked (depending on whether you want to make a white or brown stock respectively) chop the chicken into small pieces, or use drummettes/wingettes, which are inexpensive and full of schmaltzy potential.
Shellfish: Crush into small pieces and roast off until golden (you can use them raw, but the roasting definitely helps make a sweeter stock)
Fish: If you're using heads, remove the gills to avoid giving your stock a bitter flavour.
Vegetable: I like to freeze veg scraps as I go, then make up stock when I've enough in my stock-up bag. Pretty much anything can go in there - from corn cobs to mushroom stalks... except maybe brassicas, which can turn the whole mix farty - especially if you add too many. I also freeze parmesan rinds for this same purpose.
2:1:1 Everyone's got their own golden combo of veg, but the basic non-negotiables are onions, carrots and celery (just quietly, I'll sometimes even skip the celery if I've none to sacrifice). If you start out with 2 parts of onion to 1 part of carrot and/or celery, you're welcome to add whatever other bits of vegie scraps you have laying about. Fennel is good, leek is delightful, mushrooms are grand.
Forget your seasoning: You'll be using stocks to enhance the flavour of dishes, so wait until you've incorporated the stock into your soup before adding salt and pepper. This is especially critical if you're planning on making a super-concentrated version, since the longer the liquid reduces, the stronger the salt flavour will become.
Give it time: The longer you leave the stock on the heat, the more intense the flavour will become. Setting up the stockpots is often one of the first things on a restaurant's prep-list, because then they're assured that another batch of stocky goodness will be ready by the time service comes around.
Simmer gently: It can be pretty tempting to crank the heat up and reduce the stock quickly, but you'll find that this approach leads to a cloudy stock and no depth of flavour. The more vigorously the liquid bubbles, the more chance there is that the gunk at the top will filter down to the bottom and then you'll never get rid of it. Better to let it form a film at the top that you can skim off right at the end. If you're making a stock concentrate, expect it to take longer again.
Cube it: If freezer real estate is at a premium, take the stock concentrate road and reduce it right down until it's a quarter of its original volume. Skim off any gloop, allow the liquid to cool, pour through a sieve and some muslin cloth (or a clean chux cloth) then pour into an ice-cube tray and freeze. One cube is the equivalent of about 250ml of stock. Think of it as a real flavour-saver.
Want more?
Here's a quick 10-minute Chicken Sweat soup with a BBQ chook from the shops and a corn cob
I'm also currently challenging myself to make as many meals as I can out of one chicken, to show that you can always do more with less if you're crafty. Stock with the feet and neck was the very first step. It's Thursday afternoon and I'm up to iteration #7, a crispy chicken skin gnocchi with (month old!) green olives. If you'd like to check out what else we've had so far, it's all in my Instagram Highlights under #ChookChallenge.
In uncertain times like these, words weigh heavily on the fingertips. Thus I sign off now with something tapped out so trivially, yet presently imperative - please take care - and I'll write again soon.
Cheerio!
A -- Z.