If this title interests you, check out this blog explaining not all salt is the same and only a few are healthy.
http://wellnessmama.com/13164/5-reasons-eat-salt/
Ideas for Stocks & Broths
The Cookhouse
Ideas for
Stocks & Broths
- Greetings from
the Cookhouse on Big Mamou Farms. Today I present a few ideas that you can use
to put Cookhouse stocks & broths to work in your kitchen.
First, I will assume that you read my previous post on Beef
Bone Broth for background on how we make stocks and broths. If you believe in
the health and beauty benefits of stocks as I do, you may be looking for ideas
to incorporate stocks and broths into your daily routine. And if you truly want
to make great tasting foods, there may be no more important skill in your
repertoire than your skill with stocks, broths and sauces. With three stocks or
broths in your refrigerator, the possibilities are endless. Perhaps more
important, you can make healthy, great tasting meals in just minutes.
The purpose of this post is to suggest
that you can work wonders in the kitchen without a recipe and without watching
the clock as long as you have a nice stock or broth on hand. That said, there
is a time and place for fancy recipes and we will certainly suggest a few here
in the Cookhouse blog with the idea that some of the world’s best tasting
dishes start with stock and the healthiest dishes are oftentimes soups. I’m pretty
sure our grandmother or at least our great grandmother’s knew this and it
served them well. The central theme of my message is that so many cooking
methods today leave the most nutritious and flavorful elements out of the
picture. I want to change that.
But first, my last post neglected to address a question that
comes up often. That is; what is the difference between a stock and a broth? Many
conflicting opinions regarding the specific definition exist out there
including those that state that there is no difference. Just Google it and you
will see what I mean. I admit too that I
have used the two interchangeably on occasion. That said, I choose to side with
a simple and logical definition. A stock is a one-dimension foundation liquid
pure and simple. In my case stocks do not contain spices or salt and are
usually made with bones and limited vegetables only. In the case of vegetable
stock, it is just that, the juice that results from slowly simmered vegetables and
nothing more. It is only when I add to the stock that it becomes a broth. Beef
stock simmered and infused with meat now becomes a broth. Or, once spices,
protein, salt or anything else is added for additional flavor to the stock it becomes
a broth. If I reduce the stock, it becomes a sauce. If I clarify the stock or
the broth it becomes a consommé. These definitions can certainly be challenged
but this is how that I use them.
Here’s a basic strategy (it might be
your grandmother’s too) to make an infinite number of dishes. It may sound simple
but believe me if you get this right your kids might even offer to do dishes.
-
No
recipes; just a little creativity and a passion for eating healthy!
-
You
will keep a couple of basic items on hand in the fridge or your freezer at all
times.
1) Never run out of stocks or broths (Ideally
Beef, Chicken & Fish)
2) Rice, grains or other starch cooked
ahead. Pasta of any shape or size is great.
3) Vegetables
4) Any protein
With spices found in your kitchen, you probably have
everything that you need to make hundreds of different healthy, low-fat, great
tasting dishes in just a few minutes. You can buy the stocks or broths frozen
and store enough for a week in your refrigerator freezer. Just take one out to
thaw before leaving for work. Once a week or so, make a large batch of rice,
grains, pasta or all three so that they are ready to go whenever you are. All
that will be missing to prepare a great meal is the protein. Chicken breast,
lean beef, tofu or fish all make great choices.
One Process, Thousands of Variations
The following step by
step process a simple guide only. I want to stress that you can substitute
anything that you desire as long as you stay in the same family of taste
profiles. For example, it’s normally best to match your stock with your
protein. The starches can be used interchangeably. It goes without saying that
fish stock is best with fish, beef stock with beef and chicken is best used
with chicken. One exception is tofu; it can be paired with just about anything.
The basic
process is listed below but remember; the beauty is the ability to substitute and
mix & match just about anything.
- - In a stainless pan heat up stock ( a pint or quart will
do nicely)
- - When the stock is hot, add starch, rice, pasta or grain
- - As it returns to temperature add the protein; chicken,
fish, beef or tofu
- - Finally, add vegetables (whatever you have)
- - Salt & Pepper to taste
Note: In this
case, I add ginger, a pinch of red pepper-flakes and substituted pecans for the
protein just to emphasize that there are no limitations to what you can do. If
the ingredients are fresh, farm-raised or organic and the stock is of excellent
quality, this dish will be fantastic every time with no recipe required.
Or with a few basic
vegetables on hand, you can make a beautiful and super-healthy soup. The
specific amount of each vegetable is not that critical. I normally use about a
one-to one ratio of diced potatoes, carrots, onions, corn and kale and then
about half that amount of celery and half that amount again of mushrooms and
garlic, salt and pepper to taste. If you happen to have a little left-over
chicken breast you can throw that in too.
Another great use for broth whether chicken or beef is a
simple onion and dried mushroom soup. This may be one of the healthiest foods
that you can possibly put in your body for beautiful skin and hair. The
mega-dose of natural minerals, collagen and gelatin supplied by the bone broth along
with one of nature’s best sources of biotin, quercetin and polyphenols make
this soup as healthy as it is great tasting. For additional taste, include fresh
or dried ginger, white pepper or a pinch of red pepper-flakes. You might also
choose to add mushrooms and toasted sesame seeds.
How about beans, lentils and corn using a little chicken broth to pull it all together?
A pinch of turmeric and curry powder give this soup’s flavor a nice twist with a
glorious yellow color.
For a healthy dose of antioxidants, blanch freshly sliced
cabbage in with your choice of chicken or beef broth. Feel free to add thinly
sliced mushrooms, caraway seeds, ginger powder or a splash of tamari. Cabbage
is often referred to as a super-food with
health benefits too numerous to mention here. Blanching in the broth prevents
important nutrients from going down the drain and instead puts them in your
body.
Healthy! Many leading nutrition professionals believe that
bone broth may be nature’s most perfect source of calcium, magnesium, selenium
and a vast array of trace minerals required by our bodies for optimal health. Our
Cook House bone broth and stock in particular will contain more than 60 trace
minerals in addition to the macro nutrients. In a recent article about the
health benefits of bone-broth Dr. David Jonkers of Exodus Health Center states,
“Other valuable nutrients include
collagen, gelatin, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, glycosamino glycans,
proline, glycine, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. These all help
with the development of healthy joints, bones, ligaments and tendons as well as
hair and skin. These nutrients are considered beauty foods because they help
the body with proper structural alignment and beautiful skin and hair”. These
are but a few of the many health reasons to make bone broth and stock part of
your daily diet.
Thanks for your interest. I believe that stocks and broths
represent the essence of Nature. A great stock should look, taste, smell and
feel glorious to the touch. Done right, stocks and broths should be wonderfully
delicious and nearly irresistible and all for good reason. Perhaps no other
food in the universe contains so many nutrients designed specifically to light
up each of your senses. There is a reason for this-
Next, I will expand on a recipe or two designed to inspire
you to make stocks, broths and their derivative sauces part of your family’s
daily meal. If you want to look and feel great, I’m convinced that it may be one
of the most important things we can do.
Once again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed hearing
from the Cook House on the Big Mamou. - JG
Beef Bone Broth
The Cook House
BONE BROTH
First, we start with 100% GRASS-FED bones from cows that roam freely on certified ORGANIC land. In our case, cattle graze atop one of the highest points in the county, ensuring they are never exposed to run-off that might include pesticides, herbicides or toxic heavy-metals. Why? Because the animal’s life-long exposure to everything good or bad is concentrated in their bones and tissue. Think about that next time you reach for that can of soup from the store. You can do better.
We use a variety of different bones depending upon whether we are making a simple broth, a complex stock or a sensual demi-glace that will ruin your appetite for lesser sauces forever more. The bone pictured to the right would have made a wonderful braised cross-cut shank on its own but it will also make a rich and beautiful stock. I insist on marrow bones when making my stocks and broths. Mother-nature blessed marrow bones with scores of nutrients and a taste that can only be described as the very essence of life. Along with the marrow bones I always include a knuckle or joint with as much connective tissue as possible. The connective tissue creates a gelatinous stock that will impart a desirable mouth-feel to your soup or consommé while providing a super-sized shot of nutrients for beautiful hair, skin and teeth. Incidentally, some anthropologists attribute the development of our unusually large brains to our ancestor’s skill in finding and consuming bone marrow. No matter how beautiful, we can all use bigger brains.
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Meanwhile, we deglaze by placing the roasting pan on top of the stove with water. Some prefer to deglaze with red wine. The most important part of the deglazing process is to reheat the roasting pan with enough liquid to scrape the brown morsels from the bottom of the pan and return the entire contents to the stock.
Next, we bring the stock up to temperature. If making a broth for a base we bring the temperature to a slow boil. If for a clear soup or stock we will bring the temperature up just below a boil. When the stock is up to temperature we add, bay, thyme, rosemary and other spices such as black peppercorns and allspice depending upon the stock and its intended use.
This process will take approximately 2-3 days around-the-clock or 48-72 hours. Demi-glace will usually take an extra day. It’s critical to watch the stock closely as the temperature will change in step with the change in volume due to evaporation.
I do not salt or pepper at this point in the process because I want to encourage the stock to develop the true essence of beef stock beforehand. Later, when I do add salt, it will be unprocessed Real Salt, Himalayan or Sea Salt and the quantity will be scant. I’m after the essence of beef and bone and nothing more and nothing less. What you do with the stock when it’s done is your business.
Degreasing is the next step and is vitally important if we expect to produce a stock that tastes fantastic and has a velvety smooth but clean mouth feel. And by doing so, we are removing the vast majority of saturated fat while leaving behind essential life-giving minerals such as magnesium, calcium selenium and too many trace minerals to mention.
To degrease, we remove the bones from the broth and discard. Second, we will strain the entire contents through a fine sieve into a thin metal enamel coated holding pot to cool as quickly as possible. We immediately place the contents into a blast freezer for two hours and then transfer to a refrigerator for 8-10 hours. This process will force the fat to rise to the top and congeal into a solid mass leaving a clear and clean liquid beneath. To perform the final degrease, we remove the solidified fat from the top and strain the remaining contents a second time through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth that has been folded to form a double-layer.
Finally we ladle our stock into one-quart containers, seal, label and immediately transfer the batch to the blast freezer. This particular batch happened to yield 16 quarts, roughly half the size of the stockpot used for the first two days of simmering.
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Healthy! Many leading nutrition professionals believe that bone broth may be nature’s most perfect source of calcium, magnesium, selenium and a vast array of trace minerals required by our bodies for optimal health. Our Cook House bone broth and stock in particular will contain more than 60 trace minerals in addition to the macro nutrients. Athlete’s, particularly endurance athletes lose large amounts of minerals while training. Replacing minerals and trace minerals synthetically with pills and tablets while eating large amounts of empty calories devoid of mother-nature’s minerals can leave you in a depleted state with an immune system that is vulnerable to a wide array of diseases.
In a recent article about the health benefits of bone-broth Dr. David Jonkers of Exodus Health Center states, “Other valuable nutrients include collagen, gelatin, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, glycosamino glycans, proline, glycine, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. These all help with the development of healthy joints, bones, ligaments and tendons as well as hair and skin. These nutrients are considered beauty foods because they help the body with proper structural alignment and beautiful skin and hair”. These are but a few of the many health reasons to make bone broth and stock part of your daily diet.
A rigorous search aimed at the benefits of bone broth will reveal a massive amount of information and testimonials. The recent groundswell of interest in bone marrow and popularity of bone broth including chicken broth is due in part to the recent interest in the Paleo-diet. As for me, thousands of Doctors, French Chefs, our Ancestors and Mom can’t be too far wrong.
Thanks for your interest and for reading about one of the methods that we follow to make bone-broth and stock. There are certainly hundreds of different ways to make stocks and perhaps no correct or ‘right-way’ since food tastes always come down to a matter of personal preference and personal choice. From my perspective however there is only one or perhaps two ‘right’ paths to follow on the journey to seek the ‘perfect stock’. Like most good things in life, there are simply no short-cuts.
Next, I will present a few ideas to incorporate bone broths into your daily routine to save time while creating great tasting and healthy dishes. Once again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed learning how we make stock at the Cook House on the Big Mamou. - JG
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