It's SOUP-er! Part 1: stocks

As the weather turns colder my thoughts turn to that wonderful winter friend, soup. I have been told that my ability to turn a pile of parts into a symphony of yum is best displayed in this area. Show me a good soup and I will show you a stock that was well though out and prepared.

Since the sum of a soup really is the equal of it's parts here are my rules of thumb for chicken, beef and fish.

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Chicken:
2 whole stewing hens to 6 quarts of water. Cut the girls into 4 pieces and add one onion, 5 carrots and 5 stalks of celery...all cut coarsely of course. Don't bother peeling that meripoix either...just remove the onion paper. Bring this to a boil over high, reduce heat to simmer/almost boil and walk away. No, really...walk away for 3 hours. When you come back, you will see a "raft" of brown foamy nastiness...skim this off. The water level will be substancially lower, but as long as you have the fire right you should not be dry. Taste this liquid and judge if you need more time/water or if you are ready for herbs.

When you get this far, you can remove the hen. The meat is perfect for soup so you can either freeze it or use it in the next few days. The flavors I invite are usually a small bay leaf, black pepper, chicken base (not that salty crap they sell at Slaveway...get some good "meat first" base) and rosemary (go light on rosemary...she is a killer). Let this go on a simmer for an hour and then strain the whole mess. Get this cooled below 40*f as soon as you can...unless you like getting sick?

I usually let this sit overnight, and in the morning I can literally degrease the stock by removing the hard layer of fat from the gelatinous yum. You can throw this away, or it will refrigerate indefinitely. Oh, the virtues of chicken fat...but that is for another post...

Brown (usually beef, sometimes venison or veal) stock:

This one is a killer! Get 8 pounds of beef bones and 5 pounds of veal bones from your macellaio (butcher). You can do straight beef but this mix give some real subtle flavor curves. Cut 2 onions, 5 carrots and 5 stalks of celery coarsely. Throw this into a brazier pan (or on a sheet pan) and put into a "stinkin' hot" oven (as high as you can get it.) the idea is to brown/almost burn the bones without burning the meripoix. Some people will tell you to oil the bones...wimps.

Once this is done, transfer this to a large pot and add 4 gallons of water, a medium can of tomato puree, a small bunch of parsley, small hand of black peppercorns and a few bay leaves. Put this on very low and forget about it. Really, at least 3 days.

Check it a couple times a day and see if you need to replace some water. I like to turn the oven to warm (150*f on mine) and leave it in there but ymmv. At the end of 3 days taste it...if it is good, make it great with some beef base...if it needs more time, don't rush it. Strain and cool as with chicken above. This also degreases as easy as chicken but the fat should be chucked away (unless you are very old skool and feel like frying potatoes in it...)

Fish:
Fish stock is the easiest to make and the easiest to muck up. It is usually strong and well, makes the house pretty fishy. Because of this, and my opinion weak chicken actually tastes better in seafood soups, I usually don't make my own. It is made just like chicken, just half the onion and add parsley and a lemon. For the love of Febreeze don't use a super fatty fish like salmon or tuna. Also, don't be tempted to use whole fish...all you need is the bones. Your fish monger should be ably to fill your quota easily...and cheap.
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Now get out there, make some stocks and get ready for tomorrow when I show you how to make 2 of my favorite soups: French Onion au crouton and Cream of Carrot, English style.