I’m at the store, looking for ingredients for my stew. I’m in the soup aisle, and there they are boxes and boxes of stock, chicken, vegetable and beef. And then I see, boxes and boxes of broth, chicken, vegetable and beef. I have a decision to make, stock v’s broth, and that’s what this post is all about
The Stock
Let’s first discuss stock. Stock is primarily made from bones and cooked for 6 or more hours. It takes time for the flavor and goodness to be coaxed out of the bones. Also, due to cartilage and marrow, stock is much thicker when cooled. It will almost have the consistency of jello. It’s healthy too and slightly higher in nutrients than broth. Calcium from the bones. And the nutrients from the cartilage are good for your joints. It’s an excellent base for stews and soups. The flavor is not overpowering of the rest of the ingredients of the dish it’s added to.
It’s very simple to make. My preference is to keep it simple. I don’t make a mirepoix for stock. I had mentioned in my pot pie post about saving bones. And in my red lentil cauliflower curry I had mentioned saving the vegetable parts you usually throw out. Well, now we’re going to use them. Or go to the store and buy a couple of pounds of marrow bones. Ask your butcher for some knuckles. The stuff they usually throw out. You can use fish too. Bones, head, tail, it’s all good. With fish it’s better to strain through cloth to catch all the little bones after the cooking process. As for the cooking vessel, well, a 5 qt stock pot works well. It’s actually a pasta pot, but when I cook stock in it, it becomes a stock pot. A slow cooker works fine too. Just remember to was hands and utensils when handling raw meat, please read this post
Chicken Stock
In the case of the chicken bones. You’ll probably need to use a couple of carcasses. Go pick up some chicken feet too, they’ll add body to the stock. Now Throw them in a stock pot, add a couple of cloves of garlic, a medium onion cut into quarters, a teaspoon of whole peppercorns, and a little salt. Add water to cover, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 6-8 hrs. If you want to do this in the slow cooker, that’s fine. Add all the ingredients, cover with water, turn the slow cooker on and walk away. Simple, cook it overnight, cook it while at work, let it cook while you play. Come back in 8 hrs, turn the cooker off, let it cool. Strain out the contents, and you have some awesome stock.
Beef Stock
For beef or pork, it’s similar. However, the bones are more dense, they’re larger, there’s more cartilage marrow. If you were to put the bones in a pot and just cover with water, it would be too strong. A good rule of thumb ratio is 2:1. Which is 2 pounds of bones to a gallon of water. This is not an exact science, more bones equals more flavor, but there is a tipping point, so we’ll start at 2:1.
As with chicken stock, I like to keep it simple, and onion, garlic, salt, peppercorns and a bay leaf. But, I like to roast the bones first. It adds a bit of flavor to the stock. Rub with some olive oil, bake for 20 mins at 400. It’ll char up the outside a bit. Then put them in the pot, add the other ingredients, cook for 6-8 hrs
The Broth
Now for the broth. Well, broth uses meat to get the flavor as opposed to stock getting its flavor from the bones. So I could say as a simple rule of thumb to use, it would be, stock uses bones and, broth uses meat. Vegetables are a little more important. A good broth will start with a mirepoix, it will create a good aromatic flavor base. To that, add the meat, in this case, we’ll add chicken. There are a few options here. Add whole breasts, when the broth is cooked, they can be used for other dishes, chopped up in a salad for example. Using legs and thighs and the neck will make a more robust broth. The meat can be removed from the bones and saved for other purposes once the broth is cooked.
Chicken Broth
I have mentioned before a few times about using one pot for the entire cooking process, saves flavors from one step to the next. Cook the mirepoix in a 5qt stock pot, add the chicken, fill with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 2-3 hrs.
As with a lot of cooking, there is another rule of thumb ratio, 3:2:1, where 3 parts liquid to 2 parts meat to 1 part vegetables. this isn’t an exact science, but a good starting point. If I go back to my 5 qt stockpot, my mirepoix is the 1 part vegetable, two complete chicken breasts are my 2 part meat and when I fill the pot, that’s my 3 parts liquid. This will cook for about 2 to 2 1/2 hrs. When the broth is cooked, strain out the solids from the liquid. And there you have your broth, you can cook with it, or just warm it up and sip it. Chicken broth is good for the soul
Beef Broth
Beef broth will use the same principles as chicken broth. Start with a mirepoix, cook that down and add some beef. A cheap cut of beef that requires a long cook is the best to add. Oxtail works well, ribs will also make an excellent broth, and chuck too. With these tougher cuts of meat, cook a little longer, maybe 3-4 hrs. Strain off the meat and vegetables and save the broth. The meat does have some good uses, I think we’ll discuss this in a different post
The uses for stock or broth are not that dissimilar. they can both be added to stews and soups, and can both be sipped on their own. The real difference is the flavors that each one bring to the dish. A stock is more subtle whereas a broth is more robust, ultimately the choice is yours. I hope this post was informative and helpful, please enjoy.