Ok I made my first stock....

[Msk]

I followed FG's eGCI course and made some chicken stock. The course was fantastic, and everything went according to plan. I do however have a couple of questions.

I reduced the stock from about 6 quarts to 1. During the reduction process, the stock seemed to leave rings of what looked like fond on the inside walls of the stockpot. I also had to skim a skin off of it every 10 minutes or so (which didn't seem to show up in the course).

So is this normal or was I losing flavoring by not declazing these things back into the stock?

The glace is wonderfully gelatinous and brown by the way, and I'm really glad I did it. Not to mention it made my kitchen smell awesome for the 12 hrs it was simmering and we were snowed in. I can't wait to cook with it.

Msk

[riboflavinjoe]

first of all, what do you mean by FOND? fond is the french word for stock, and my interpretation of the way you use the word, it means stock to me. and then there is the stuff that you have to skim out. this is generally just the impurities that come to the surface during the reducing process. it will create a cleaner stock if you skim that stuff out. make sure you pass it through a super fine strainer, like a chinois étamine, or if you dont have one of those, use a tea towel. thats the way i do it at home. and whats your definition of the word declazing. i am not aware of this word, im not certain if you are using the word deglazing, and if you are, im not sure if you are using it correctly. hope this helps. joey

[Suzanne F]

I have to admit to not having read the eGCI lessons, so: did they tell you to transfer the stock to smaller and smaller pots as you reduce it? That way you're less likely to get that sticky buildup on the sides of the pot(s) as the stock cooks down.

(Note to Joey: in this case, the fond referred to is the yummy brown bits on the bottom of the saute pan; the stuff you want to dissolve when you deglaze the pan to make a pan sauce.)

I've found that if I "wash" it off the sides of the pot as soon as I see it, no harm is done. (This is like washing down the sugar when making caramel.) However, if it sits too long, especially in a pot like an All-Clad, where the heat easily climbs the sides, it gets burnt and should NOT be washed back into the stock. Horrible taste then, can ruin the whole thing.

[gsquared]

I would definitely not put the substances forming the rings back into the stock. These are caused by surface impurities left on the sides of the pot as the liquid reduces. In other words, the same stuff you skim off.

[EdS]

I carefully remove that sludge with a paper towel, as part of my skimming procedure, while initially cooking my stock. By the time I've strained it in a fine-mesh chinois and refrigerated the stock and skimmed off the fat, I don't see much of a ring when reducing. I do skim with a fine-mesh skimmer while reducing too.

When my reduction begins to thicken significantly, in the latter stages, I'm careful to slowly whisk it from time to time. I'm probably washing that sludge off at that point before it becomes noticable.

Edited December 9, 2003 by esvoboda (log)

[Msk]

first of all, what do you mean by FOND?

I was referring to the brown bits often deglazed after cooking meat. I always thought people referred to this as fond. (i.e. Suzanne's reply)

and whats your definition of the word declazing. i am not aware of this word, im not certain if you are using the word deglazing, and if you are, im not sure if you are using it correctly. hope this helps.

Yes, I meant deglazing. Sorry for the spelling error. I also thought one of its meanings was to use a liquid to melt the fond into a sauce.

So the question was, should I have used some of the stock to re-incorporate this back into the stock, and was I losing any flavoring strength?

Unfortunately I only have a 10 qt stock pot so I had to reduce in that, next time I will buy a smaller one to reduce in to mitigate this issue. It seems it is not worth risking all the work to try and re-incorprate this and I'll let it go. As an aside, I actually tasted the stuff (fondlike substance), and it tasted pretty good.

As usual, you guys are great. Thanks for the help!

Msk