I was wondering how many people have their butchers/meat shops/etc salvage the bones from meats that they have deboned? And, of those who do -- for what stocks do you use these bones?

I am quickly becoming "I must make my own stock" man. So any thoughts are appreciated about the finer art of making various stocks from scratch, too.

I regularly get the chef at the deli to get me good shin bones from a cow and shanks from a sheep(with meat still on-they're cheap and add a great deal of falvour). I add to my stock base- port (cheap ruby ), lotsa water, leeks, celery, carrots, two cloves of garlic, a heap of salt and pepper. Simmer taking the fat that collects of the top till it has been reduced to a third. Then strain and chill it in the fridge. The remaining fat will solidify on top remove that and you have a beautiful gelatainous stock.

This is a very rich stock which can be used for game, beef, lamb and even pork dishes. It also works wonders with a few berries thrown in and reduced (great sauce for game.)

I also make Chicken stock (although less regularly) which can be used in curries, and fish dishes (mostly due to the high amount of citrus I put in it.)

Get three chicken caracass's (one of the benfits in being involved with a deli-more chicken carcass's than even the chef can use), mint, lemon, celery, parsley,lotsa awater sav blanc (cheap cask) a litle salt and a reasonable amount of pepper. Simmer until a third ( taking the floating fat off as you go) left then strain and chill as above.

When I make stock, I don't add much spice, preferring to add to each dish individually for which I use the stock. If you spice the stock, then everything you use it for will have that spice.

I purchase bulk beef and veal bones from a european meat market deli in my area. I too add only a bit of garlic, salt and pepper to my stock along with vegetables. I prefer to season each for the dish I am preparing.

I usually make veal demi-glace too and can all of my stock in a pressure canner.

Admidantly the lemon comes through quite strongly on the chicken stock but the lamb and beef stock is actually quite nuetral in terms of spice. It just tastes quite gamey and sweet. The mint in the chicken stock adds a little subtle vegetive character which intergrates the chicken flavours.

Celery and carrots add very little in the way of flavours either.

Utilising the stock as a based to demi or other sauces still alows me to utilise many other seasonings, but I always add garlic and pepper to all of my sauces so to take a short cut I've added it to my stocks. Seems to work and I have used this sauces in numerous dishes, with little change in the flavours.

I have only really made chicken stock with any regularity thus far. I tend to use the veggies of carrots, celery and onion and a bouquet garnis of a few herbs. I suppose I should experiment without the garnis... Hmmm.

TJ,

Welcome to the Gastronomic Obsessive Compulsive Club. Board-O, Jeremy, and I are the founding members. The first rite of passage is an insistence on your own stock. There's no turning back now!

Stock freezes nicely, by the way, in recipe-size batches in small ziptop freezer bags. Just use it within 6-months and keep it at the bottom of the freezer, in the back.

I recommend you invest in one of these, as a second rite of passage, a4-cup fat separator . It's a "must have" gadget for easily separating the fat from the yummy stuff and is worth the investment.

Then, you'll be a fully inducted GOCC member when you get one of these, a chinois set . Nothing better for getting all the yummy stuff out of your concoctions.

I love making stock. Makes the whole house just smell yummy and redolent of the "old days" - as if your grandma were in the kitchen cooking all day for the family.

4 cup fat separator -- why should I have this -- the picture does not really convery any special features.

The chinois set looks very kewl and I must get one sometime.

I have been making chicken stock for about a year now, and I find it remarkably easy. It is a little time consuing, but I think it is worth it. And, thanks for thre freezer trick -- I already do that. I had to learn the hard way, though, that I need to rest the baggies on the bottom shelf of my freezer, as opposed to the top wire shelf (can you say, stock in a bag now has a funky shape that requires surgical removal from the freezer? There, I knew ya could!!)

But it DOES make the house smell a verra verra naice!

The separator is a large, "Pyrex-like" glass measuring cup, essentially. It has a special spout blown into the bottom of the bowl. Here's what I do with it:

- pour in about 3.5-4 cups of strained stock
- let it rest until most of the fat has risen (about 1-2 min's)
- pour off the juices from the special spout that takes the yummy stuff from the bottom first, leaving the fat behind.

Because the thing is glass, it washes very easily. But, like a Reidel, you have to be careful with it. The "Pyrex" glass is tough, but the spout is a little vulnerable because of its position.

SOOOOOO much faster than standing over a pot, scooping out the fat little by little with a spoon.

Ahhhhh. I did not see the spot at the bottom. What a great idea!!

It looks like about a 500ml chemistry beaker with a spout at the bottom and a handle. Looks like a useful item for separating lots of different things.

The separation cup is excellent and well worth the dollars.

LilacWine, I'd like to join! I also love making stock. I don't know why. There is something comforting about doing it, but I think it goes back to the "Great Chefs of San Francisco" series when I saw Masa Kobayahi cooking in the kitchen and he always had 4 stocks going at one time. He said (through an interpreter) that his secret to his fabulous sauces were the stocks he made. I think my fat separator is 2 cups, I should get a bigger one. What is a chinois set? I have some great strainers.

GATC,

A Chinois set! Ahhh. THE tool for making purees and soups. It's also useful for making stock, but better for soup, sauces, etc.

It's a tall strainer with a stand and a pestle kind of thing (a "masher" - it's got a real name, but that escapes me for the moment) for squishing all the goodness out of whatever you've cooked the goodies out off. Makes the absolutely smoothest potato and leek soup you've ever tasted.

We're a sick crowd, us Gastronomic OCD'ers, but we're always asked to bring something to the party! And people love coming to our's, so we can't be all that bad!

I usually only make vegetable stock, since it's handy for when I have friends that are vegetarians over for meals (helloooooo risotto! ).

Basically I just use onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and wait for it ... fennel! I don't use the leafy green tops, just the root. It adds a lot of depth and flavour to the stock (almost a sweetness), but doesn't overpower. A little salt and pepper, and simmer away for a couple hours. All is good.

I think fennel is a really underated and under used vegetable.

Amen to the turnip hunter.

Fennel.

Don't forget parsnips either!

I concur, Jeremy. When I was younger, I didn't know that fennel was fennel because in my house we called it finocchio. There were always pieces of it on the fruit platter after meals at my Nonna's house.

Yum!

I love fennel. Yum.

Fennel is fenomenal. I once resigned an advertising account - a sausage manufacturer - because the owner hated fennel and forbade his chefs from using it in any of the sausage. Travesty!