Broth

Had several people talk to me about bone broth lately.  I love the addition of the word “bone”.   It gives it a primal sound that demands a second look.  Nobody ever turned their heads at stock or chicken broth.  Show your grandma a bone broth recipe and she’ll say:  “What?  You mean soup?”                                                                                                     Whether soup, broth or stock; I’m glad people are interested in making it themselves. It’s a small extra step to making food delicious.

Chicken Broth…the short, short version.
Roast a chicken or buy a roasted chicken. Eat the meat. Place bones in crock pot and cover with water buy 2 inches. Turn crock pot on low. Go to bed. Wake up. Strain off bones. Cool, and refrigerate or freeze.

White Chicken Broth– Place a clean, raw yard bird in a large pot. Cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a full rolling boil. Spoon away any foam thate rises to the top. Cover and turn off heat. Wait an hour. Remove bird and let cool a bit. Pull off meat and return bones to water. Simmer for 6 hours or more. Strain cool and refrigerate or freeze.

Beef, Veal, Pork or Lamb Broth-
Place 1-2lbs of bones in a roasting pan. Roast for 45 minutes in a 425° oven; or until very browned; turn a couple times. Everything else is the same as the roast chicken broth.
If you are using a pot and not a crock pot: Bring to a boil. Skim the surface of scummy foam and turn down to a low simmer for 8 hours.

Fish Broth-
1lb white fleshed fish, head and bones. Cover with water or white wine buy 3 inches. Bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer for 17 minutes. Strain and cool.

To Any Broth:
You can add a multitude of flavors to add depth. Here are the Western European classics:
½ an onion
1 small carrot
1 small rib celery
salt
pinch pepper
1 sprig thyme
1 small bay leaf
small bunch parsley stems

Asian broth tends to roll with different aromatics like, ginger, green onion, garlic, star anise, soy sauce, bonito, kombu. Different but the same idea.

Cooling and storing a large batch of broth efficiently, is usually the hardest part of broth making. Ice baths are best but are still a bit clunky.

So there you have it, Broth.

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Here is a picture of some trotters I breakfasted up the other day.  Feet are always a great broth additive.  They give flavor of course, but are really appreciated for adding collagen and gelatin, which adds richness and viscosity.  

One Crazy Summer

produceThis summer was jam packed with work and fun.  No surprise there, since I haven’t posted anything since June :-|  But man…if I wasn’t working, I, was, runnin’!  Mostly for fun though.

My kids are coming of age to free up adventurism and boy did we get after it this summer.  With all the go, go, go- I was feeling a bit flat creatively, so I gave myself a switch up.  Rolled over to Iowa Meats and rummaged through the freezer section that is stocked with rare and interesting meats.  Came away with some lamb loin (not that rare, I know), along with some Elk and frog legs.  This summer had alot of firsts, so I thought it fitting to get after the frog legs.  Only cooked em once about 15 years ago.  Next time will be much sooner.