making stock with a shuttle chef

[origamicrane]

Hi there

does anyone own a shuttle chef?

have you ever tried making stock using it?

for those that don't know a shuttle chef is a very large thermos flask used for cooking. Its excellent for making soups as it gives perfect results everytime, doesn't use electricity or gas and you can leave it unattended safe in the knowledge it won't burn and it keeps things hot for a good 6 hours.

Have a look

http://www.galtak.com/thermos.html

Well i made a big pot of chicken stock

brought it up to a simmer and skimmed it until every 10 minutes

until i couldn't be bothered no more

but not sure i like the idea of keeping it on a low flame overnight unattended ( just call me paranoid or careful )

Now i think the shuttle chef will be excellent for making stock as it keeps the stock at a constant hot temp for a long period but with no movement of the liquid thus allowing any particles to fall to the bottom.

The only thing i wonder about is what will happen to any fat still in the stock? will it result in a murky stock?

Just wondered if anyone has tried this before and whether it is a good or bad idea and if anyone has any tips?

[canucklehead]

These pots are really popular in Asia and with the Cantonese in particular as they are huge soup makers.

I've used it and it make very very clear stock. It does not even seem to generate the particulate in the first place. In fact - when my mother makes chinese soup in the pot - she makes the stock and then brings it to a hard boil to get it murky as she is really not used to super clear stock.

One thing though - there is absolutely NO evaporation - so no concentrating of flavors. You can try to compensate for this by using less water. Or you can have it "cook" longer in the pot. I think that you need to bring it back up to a boil every 8 hours and then return it to its sleeve for food safety issues.

I think they are great pots also - uses no engergy except to get to the boil and generates no additional heat in the kitchen. I have been thinking of using it for Chili or a braise - but I've also got a slow cooker that I like using alot.

God - reading the above - when did I turn into my mother? I'm guy for chrissakes!

Edited March 17, 2005 by canucklehead (log)

[Yuki]

Yeah, I have one at home too, it is great. In order to make good soup in it, you must bring it out of the pot every 20-30min to simmer it a bit. Leave it overnight in the pot to get good soup the next morning. The lazy way is just to boil it once and stick it into the thermo pot, but the soup won't turn out as good.

I often make soup at night and leave it in the pot overnight. In the morning, I will boil it up then stick it back in the pot. The soup is ready when I come back at night.

We usually put the stock into the fridge so the fat can solidify. The pot is also great for congee and stew. Every Cantonese family must go get a thermo pot so there will be no reason why there is no soup on the table. It is great for modern family where there is little or no time to watch the soup cooking

[origamicrane]

Hi all

I can HIGHLY recommend using the shuttle chef for making a stock. The end result was a very clear and strongly flavoured stock and all without the fuss and waste of gas of simmering it all night.

Ok

8.00pm last night, chopped up and roasted off 3 chicken carcasses to a nice golden brown about 45 minutes. Then into a pot of water with 3 sprigs thyme, 3 sprigs rosemary, 2 bay leaves, 4 garlic cloves, 2 carrots, 4 tomatoes, 2 red onions, 1t black peppercorns and a handful of mushrooms.

Bought it to a simmer, skimmed and depouille and repeat every 10 minutes for about 1 hours. At this point turned the gas to full for about 30 seconds and then straight into the shuttle chef. Then I went to bed

7.30am next morning woke up, go down to the kitchen, put the pot back onto the stove, skim once and let it simmer while I get ready for work.

8.00am just before I leave the house, I skim once, turn the heat up to full for 30 seconds again and then straight back into the shuttle chef.

7.00pm I get home, pot back onto the stove, skim, simmer for 30 minutes skim again and then ladle the stock through a cheesecloth.

8.00pm finished

(well kinda, I then reduce the stock by half , and using the stock vegs and chicken carcass made a chicken soup.)

So as you can see the stock in total took 24 hours to complete

but it was only on the simmer for 2 hours, attended by me for 3 hours and only skimmed 9 times.

quite a good saving in time, gas and skimming wouldn't you say?

[helenjp]

Oh yeah, just wanted to add...that I agree with what everybody else said!

I like the safety aspect very much, and the fact that it doesn't need electricity means you can put it anywhere you want. A big point in a small house!

[Hiroyuki]

You can get a similar effect by using a box made of styroform and towels (or newspaper). Simmer a pot for five minutes or so, wrap it in towels (or newpaper), and put it in the box. For better insualtion, apply alumimun foil to the inside of the box.

[helenjp]

...it just doesn't look *quite* as nice as a Shuttle Chef on your dining table!

[origamicrane]

also sounds a little er.... precarious wrapping a towel round a hot pot and then moving it into a box of styrofoam ,doesn't the foam melt even if its wrapped in a towel?.

But i guess those shuttle chefs aren't exactly cheap and i don't think widely available so might be a weekend project for some of us.

[canucklehead]

Would'nt food safety be a bigger concern also?

[Hiroyuki]

I just introduced how thermal cooking can be done without using a shuttle chef. In fact, this seems to be practiced by not a few Japanese across the country.

I think that heating the pot so that the center temperature of ingredients is maintained at 75 C (167 F) or higher for 1 minute kills all food poisoning bacteria.

[origamicrane]

Would'nt food safety be a bigger concern also?

←

the shuttle chef is a thermos flask so it will keep the content pretty close to the starting temperature for a good few hours and as you can see i simmer it for 30 minutes everytime i attend to the pot.

Hiro's diy version will work.

It will probably need a tight lid, but the physics are the same

ie: put pot in insulated container.

My only query is the convenience and the likelihood of making a mess

Edited March 19, 2005 by origamicrane (log)

[RonC]

I'm sorry to jump into this thread with an only tangentially-related question -- but -- here goes. I recall seeing something about making stock in a microwave. Can someone direct this still newby to those instructions?

Thanks,

Ron