How do you make lovely stock?

[RunRabbitRunRabbit]

My chicken stock has been fairly tasty but runny the last few times I've made it. Not all lovely, thick and gelatinous like it has been previously. I'm not sure what I started doing wrong.

I have never managed to make a beef stock that's better than mediocre.

Please give me stock-making tips.

Do you reduce it for enough time? I give it at least 40 minutes and sometimes more.

I gave it a good couple of hours. Maybe I had too much water to begin with.

Beef stock- roast the bones before you make the stock. Then reduce like mad. If you reduce for a second time with equal quantities of red wine you have something quite luscious.

Chicken stock- again reduce but on a low steady heat. I keep mine on for 3 hours.

Stock goes gelatinous because of the collagen in the bones so it might be that you have added too much water.

I make mine in a slow cooker and leave it going for hours (8 - 12 minimum). On a hob I would do chicken for at least 3 hours, same if it's in the oven.

How much water would you use per carcass?

The more bones the better. I freeze random chicken bones till I have enough to fill a pot. I also think free range makes better stock. Buy that may just be a notion.

Yes, i think the amount of water is the key. I don’t use too much at all but then I rarely make gravy, soups, etc for more than two people at a time.

I normally book long enough to let the volume of liquid reduce by at least a third. I tend to get the best stock from a roast that has some added liquid in the first place (like the chicken I do with lemon and cider, which gives really good stock that goes well in a noodle soup) - cider and lemon skins all go in with the bones and I just top it up with water to cover.

Chimpanzee, I’ve never thought of doing it in my slow cooker -great idea.

Per carcass? Around a litre.

Throw in an onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf and garlic. Cook for at least an hour.

Its better if you use previously roasted bones i.e. from a roast chicken.

I normally save chicken carcasses in the freezer after a roast. When I have enough to fill a stock pot, about 4 chickens, I bung them in with veg and seasoning, fill to the top with water and simmer for 2-3 hours with the lid off.

If we have any duck giblets I chuck those in too.

Maybe I should break up the bones more so they don't reach so high up the stock pot, hence needing less water to cover them. I don't usually defrost them first. I suppose I could chop them up with bone shears before freezing.

RunRabbit I don't really measure but generally enough water to just cover the bones and veg. I usually do one carcass at a time - straight in to the pot once the bones are stripped.

scurryfunge it's by far my favourite way to make stock. I leave it going as long as possible, just topping up the water slightly if needed.

I have stopped adding veg to my stockpot. Stock made just with bones, skin etc is much more intensely "chickeny" i find.

I freeze carcasses too, OP, and generally use 3-4 at a time. Carrot, onion and a few sticks of celery, few bay leaves, some thyme sprigs and a whole bunch of parsley (I grab this when reduced and freeze too). DH puts in lots of peppercorns too.

I only just cover with water, simmer on v low with lid partially on for at least 3 hours. At this stage it tastes nice, but is still too watery. I strain, usually leave in fridge overnight so that the fat sets on top and I can remove it easily. I then reduce right down to around a tenth of the volume or less, until much thicker. Then put this in ice cube trays, where it sets as soon as room temp as so gelatinous. This was originally to save space when freezing - but is also much more useful to chuck in a stock cube from frozen, which alone gives a lovely glaze and makes an almost instant sauce when added to pan juices with a dash of wine and seasoning. Lovely with cream added too for a pasta or pie filling sauce. If you need standard stock, then just add hot water. To make gravy, add to the roast pan with some wine and veg water - raraely needs thickening.

The taste is amazing due to the level of reduction - I tried one those stock pots when I had run out - they just tasted of salt.
Sorry for the essay