Q&A -- Straining, defatting and reducing Unit 3

[jaynesb]

In the section where vegetable stock is discussed, the instructions indicate that I should

saute onions, whole cloves, garlic, carrots...

I used whole cloves of garlic and wondered if I was supposed to also be using cloves, the spice. I figured I'd ask for next time since my stock is cooking now.

jayne

[Marlene]

So I'm making stock as per the instructions given here. To be precise, a beef stock. I've never done this before. Here's my progress to date:

I had two pans of oxtails, beef shanks and a few beef ribs, painted with tomato paste:

and roasted

into the stockpot with onions and carrots

deglazed the pan and added the juices to the stock pot:

simmered it gently all night and this is what it looked like this morning

I've strained it once, into three smaller pots. They are in the fridge chilling now. The one pot looks cloudy, but it really isn't. It's my lousy picture taking and it was still hot, so it may be steam, but it really isn't cloudy. I swear:

Next up will be de fatting, straining once more back into the stock pot and reducing to a bunch of ice cube demi glaces.

[Marlene]

It will take some time for my stock to chill. I may not be ready to de-fat or reduce until tonight or tomorrow.

In the meantime, I need a more detailed description on how to reduce to demi glace. I think it must be more than the "coat the back of your spoon", but I'm really not sure.

[Marlene]

demi-glace? Someone? Anyone at all This is tomorrow's snow day project.

[Rachel Perlow]

Are you planning on making actual demi-glace or just a stock reduction?

[Marlene]

I think I mean demi glace. so I can put the stuff into ice cube trays and freeze it. Then I can reconstitute one cube into a cup of stock if I need it.

[Rachel Perlow]

Actually, a demi-glace has other stuff added to it or something. Someone posted detailing the difference between a demi glace and a glace de viande not too long ago. Anyone know which thread? Post a link please, I can't find it. If you just want a straight reduction, you just boil down your defatted stock until it is 1/8 or so the original volume.

[Marlene]

ok, so maybe a straight reduction is what I want. Where's our instructors when we need them?

Approximately how long does it take to reduce? I'd hate to start this at 10 pm and still be up at 3 or something like that?

[Fat Guy]

For the purposes of this class, we've been using the term "demi-glace" (literally half glace) to refer to a reduction of stock that is quite rich but not as rich as a glace. This is how the term is used in many American and other English-speaking kitchens. According to Escoffier's definitions, demi-glace is a specific combination of stock and sauce Espagnole, and that's probably the more technically correct definition for professional French cooking, but we're just talking about reducing stock here.

Reduction can take awhile. It depends a lot on how much surface area your pots have compared to how much is in them. You can reduce a cup of stock in a 12" skillet in no time. Reducing the same cup of stock in a 1/2" test tube will take a lot longer. A big stockpot full of stock can take hours to come to the boil and reduce to a small percentage of its former self. Splitting it up among several pots will hasten things, of course.

[Marlene]

thanks teach. I'm going to do them in the three pots that the stock is in currently. Tomorrow's likely a snow day. I'm gonna have all day.

[Fat Guy]

One thing to bear in mind, Marlene, is that this gets a lot easier. Once you've got a feel for the way your stove, stockpot and procedures work together to make stock, you'll be able to do this as a non-labor-intensive, set-it-and-forget-it operation. It will be a few minutes of assembly, a little skimming, and then most of the rest of the time is yours save for a little manipulation here and there.

[Dave the Cook]

Not that it's a recognized standard or anything, but here's what I do for basic beef stock:

- Two pounds of meaty bones (veal or beef, or a combination) makes one quart of flavorful stock with good mouthfeel. So I weigh the bones (or tote up the butcher's labels) to find out how many pounds I've got. Of course, I try to do it in two pound increments, so as not to challenge my mental faculties unreasonably.

- You started with eight pounds of bones, so, assuming you got more or less full extraction, you should finish with four quarts of stock. This may or may not be what you actually have, however. Still, it's the starting point.

- To get down to the "one cube/one cup" ratio, which is also my method, you need to reduce your stock to the number of cubes that is equal to the number of cups in four quarts: 16. One ice cube -- at least, in the trays I have -- turns out to be one ounce. So you need to reduce to 16 ounces, or two cups.

- The easiest way I've found to track a reduction is to pour two cups of stock into the pot you'll be using for your final stage. Use a ruler (or mark the point on the handle of a wooden spoon) to note the depth. Then pour in the rest of your stock and simmer away. Check the level periodically, and stop when you get to the right measurement, or a little under. You can always add a little water if you overreduce.

- Let cool, pour two tablespoons into each cube compartment and freeze. When frozen, pop out of the trays and into a heavy-duty ziplock bag.

- Reconstitute by dropping a cube into a measuring cup and adding water to make one cup. The cubes, being a glace of some sort, are also great for finishing sauces or soups straight from the freezer.

(Edited to correct measurement error noted in subsequent post.)

Edited January 6, 2005 by Dave the Cook (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

- Let cool, pout two teaspoons into each cube compartment and freeze. When frozen, pop out of the trays and into a heavy-duty ziplock bag.

←

Two teaspoons or tablespoons?

[Marlene]

It's a perfect day to finish this project. We've snow and freezing rain, so I won't be going anywhere for a while.

Dave, your post was most helpful. Having never done this before, using a ruler is not a bad idea actually. I actually started with closer to 11.5 lbs of bones, and I'm pretty sure I've got at least 8 quarts of stock. Possibly 10. I'll check.

I'm going to reserve three cups of this for immediate use. 2 will go into a French Onion soup and 1 into a beef stroganoff for tonight's dinner.

So one final question. When reducing, bring to a boil? just a simmer? Stir, don't stir?

Once the coffee kicks in, I'm ready to go.

[Marlene]

I've taken two of the three pots out and taken the fat off the top. It's very gelatinous underneath. I'm thinking it's because I had it in the fridge for so long? What I'm going to do, is start by warming the stock up to pure liquid form, then I'm going to strain it again, reserve the amount I want and then start reducing.

Does this make sense?

[Rachel Perlow]

You don't have to bother reheating the part you want to reserve. Just scoop out the gel into a 1 quart container. It's supposed to be gelatinized. The stiffer the gel, the better the stock.

[Marlene]

I took it back to liquid because I wanted to strain it again. Actually as an experiment, I strained one pot and not the other.

They are both now coming to a slow boil on the cooktop

[Fat Guy]

A full boil is the way to go for reduction. Once you have all the fat and free particles out of the stock (because you defatted and strained it so carefully), the main negative consequences of a rolling boil (homogenizing all that crap into the stock) have been eliminated. So crank it up and let it reduce.

I've mentioned this before, but it's worth saying again: all these formulae are useful as starting points, but you have to taste your stock in order to make the final determinations. Right now, Marlene, since you don't have a reference point, all you should do is taste and observe. Later, when you've made several batches of stock, it will all come together. But do taste at every stage: before and after reduction, during the cooking process, etc., because that's how you learn what stock tastes like. Everything else, even the visual cues, can be misleading.

[Dave the Cook]

- Let cool, pout two teaspoons into each cube compartment and freeze. When frozen, pop out of the trays and into a heavy-duty ziplock bag.

←

Two teaspoons or tablespoons?

←

Tablespoons!

(Thanks, Rachel.)

I second Steven's admonition to taste frequently. Stock doesn't taste exactly like soup, which might be what you're expecting.

[Marlene]

Whew, I'm finally done!

This is what it looked like after I took it out of the fridge and skimmed the fat.

I brought it back to liquid and strained it once more.

here it is at it's final reduction

And I ended up getting 3 full trays of cubes

These trays are from Tupperware, and they are great because they have lids. They stack, and nothing sloshes around over the edge. I've put them on the back porch to cool and then they'll go into the freezer.

A couple of notes. I didn't take exact measurements nor note closely enough how many lbs of bones I started with. Not being of a mathmatical mind anyway, I had some problems doing the right calculations, so I guessed.

Tasting was very important. When I started the reduction it was very thin and bland, kind of like a diluted broth. By the time I was done, it had become much denser and richer in flavour as well as darker in colour. All in all, I think I'm pretty pleased with how this came out.

The other thing I should add is that although this really is a time consuming process, as Fat Guy says, it's pretty passive time. It's also not very much of a drain on your brain, and in fact I found it to be very therapudic in many ways. Nothing like mindless work to soothe an overworked mind.

Thanks everyone for your help!

[Dave the Cook]

Very nice, Marlene. It looks great.

Now, was that so hard?

[Marlene]

No it wasn't, and as Steven says it will become more intuative, the more I do it.

I have two more questions. I'm going to make a chicken stock next (although I won't need to bore everyone with the details . Now, I don't use chicken stock nearly as much as I do beef, so I'll make less of this. I have 3 or 4 pounds of chicken thighs, legs and wings in the freezer. Is that all I need or are the other parts of the chicken I should have?

And finally, I'd like to do a pork stock. Pork stock I could see myself using quite often. What should I be using for that kind of stock?

[snowangel]

Yeah, Marlene! You are going to love having this around.

I feel just about naked when the freezer does not have chicken and beef stock.

I got lucky today. I have made friends with the butcher at our local supermarket. She took me aside today and let me know that she had a whole mess of bones and oxtails that were at their sell-by date, and that she could give me a deal on them or toss them. Simmering starts after supper.

FOrtunately, it's been cold enough here that I don't have to make space in the fridge for chilling, nor flat space for freezing the cubes. The deck works just fine.

As an aside, I don't put carrots in my stock. Call me a heretic. I do enough Chinese and Thai soups that I don't want that bit of sweetness. In fact, I really don't like carrots unless they are roasted or raw.

Edited to add: should you try chix stock, be sure and try and get some feet. They had a wonderful silky quality.

Edited January 6, 2005 by snowangel (log)

[Marlene]

I was unable to find chicken feet, but chicken stock is on for tonight.

What I really want to make is a pork stock though. I assume the process is more or less the same, but what does one use? What are the best pork bones, meats etc to give a nice rich stock?

[snowangel]

I have my best luck getting chix feet at my Asian market.

I also get meaty pork bones there. They have such a nice selection of bones, probably because they tend to get different kinds of cuts of meat -- whole sides, etc. -- and butcher them in-house.