Too much stock

[Malawry]

I know this is the sort of problem everybody wants, but...

I am moving in a month. The move will not be one of those seamless one-day dealies; there's a week between closing on our sale and closing on our purchase, and we're staying with friends who live in an apartment with no chest freezer. We're traveling for 10 days this last month in the old house. I don't generally eat a lot of soup when the weather warms up, which it's doing now.

I've been cleaning out our chest freezer, trying to eat things up. I'm attending a potluck this weekend and thought if I brought some gumbo, I could use up lots of odds and ends that way. Plus I had 4 duck carcasses sitting in the freezer--perfect, I'll make duck stock and use that as the base of the gumbo. Then I saw a whole chicken sitting in there with the carcasses, and decided to poach it in the stock and pick the meat to make chicken salad.

Are you with me so far?

By covering 4 carcasses, 1 whole bird, and a bunch of mirepoix and herbs with fresh cold water, I ended up with about 3 gallons of stock. I was planning to make about 2 gallons total of gumbo for this weekend--which is, what, about 50% stock?

To add insult to injury, I found 2 large tupperware-type containers of turkey stock (about 1gal) in the freezer when I pulled out the duck carcasses and whole chicken.

I'm trying to reduce a bunch of today's stock into duck demi to compress it, but I already have 3 2-cup deli cups of veal demi hanging about. How much demi does a girl need? How long will it keep, anyway?

What on earth can I do with the rest of this stock to get rid of it? Does anybody in the DC area wanna buy some or something?

[CaliPoutine]

I know this is the sort of problem everybody wants, but...

I am moving in a month. The move will not be one of those seamless one-day dealies; there's a week between closing on our sale and closing on our purchase, and we're staying with friends who live in an apartment with no chest freezer. We're traveling for 10 days this last month in the old house. I don't generally eat a lot of soup when the weather warms up, which it's doing now.

I've been cleaning out our chest freezer, trying to eat things up. I'm attending a potluck this weekend and thought if I brought some gumbo, I could use up lots of odds and ends that way. Plus I had 4 duck carcasses sitting in the freezer--perfect, I'll make duck stock and use that as the base of the gumbo. Then I saw a whole chicken sitting in there with the carcasses, and decided to poach it in the stock and pick the meat to make chicken salad.

Are you with me so far?

By covering 4 carcasses, 1 whole bird, and a bunch of mirepoix and herbs with fresh cold water, I ended up with about 3 gallons of stock. I was planning to make about 2 gallons total of gumbo for this weekend--which is, what, about 50% stock?

To add insult to injury, I found 2 large tupperware-type containers of turkey stock (about 1gal) in the freezer when I pulled out the duck carcasses and whole chicken.

I'm trying to reduce a bunch of today's stock into duck demi to compress it, but I already have 3 2-cup deli cups of veal demi hanging about. How much demi does a girl need? How long will it keep, anyway?

What on earth can I do with the rest of this stock to get rid of it? Does anybody in the DC area wanna buy some or something?   

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Cant you take it to work? Hmmm, other than donating it to a soup kitchen, I'm at a loss. Too bad I wasnt closer, I could sure use it.

[snowangel]

OK, co-host.

Reduce the hell out of your stock. Get every gallon down to smidgeons.

I do it regularly. Reduce to 80%. My freezer isn't very big (actually, the freezer isn't that small, but it's usually filled with stuff like venison, ducks, geese, etc). And, find someone who can get you some dry ice for the trip...

P. S. Stock that's been frozen for far longer than one would freeze flesh is just fine. Dump it in a pan and reduce it to smitherines (sp?)?

[Chef Metcalf]

Here's a couple of suggestions that might work for you Malawry...

Reduce the chicken and turkey stock down to the amount that you need for the gumbo and just have an incredibly rich flavoured gumbo.

Or you could make a chicken or turkey demi glace (and I mean really reduce it, as in one gallon becomes a half cup) the flavour will be wonderful and you can use it as a sauce served over roasted chicken slices.

Finish the demi off with some cold butter and fresh thyme just before serving the bird.

Demi has never lasted very long at my house, but frozen I think it should be okay for 6 months to a year.

cm

[Mayhaw Man]

I would have no trouble using stock that has been frozen for a year, as long as it was put up well with little or no air space in it.

In fact, given the complete lack of organization of my deep freeze and the "mysterious dating method" that I use, I probably do it more often than I realize.

[godito]

I'm with everybody. Reduce it to... well to a glaze. It will keep for several months. For every gallon of stock you've got, make a cup or less. There's multiple uses for glazes. I can give you tons of ideas. I always keep some around to add rishness and deeper flavor to sauces, soups and even stocks. We even used to make lobster glaze and "paint" eels with it before cooking them. Good stuff.

[chef koo]

if it was me i'd dump it. it's easier and it sounds like you've got stock to spare so no big deal

[jackal10]

As has been said upthread, make demi-glace or even glace with it.

Reduce it to a thick syrup. Start with a big pan, and then smaller pan as the stock reduces. Its then so concentrated it won't need freezing, or even refrigeration, although I keep mine in the fridge.

Meat glace is the base note for much of classical cuisine, for good reason. Instant soup, gravy, richness for dishes. Once you have tried it, you will be making and reducng stock just to have some on hand.

Edited June 1, 2005 by jackal10 (log)

[JPW]

Give it away to one of your neighbors.

Like me, for example.

[Malawry]

Thanks for the responses. I guess demi it is.

CaliPoutine, I've left the sorority chef job. My spouse, who is finishing a doctoral degree in music, found a tenure-track job, so we're moving to be closer to it. We'll be 90 minutes away from the sorority with no traffic, so I'm looking for something in the new area--I'm not willing to commute that far. Besides, last summer they made me give over my keys and swipe cards--none of the chefs have access to their kitchens over the summertime.

JPW, you know where to find me--I'd be glad to make a donation!

I'm surprised some of you don't think demi needs to be chilled. How long are you keeping it at room temperature? Or do you only mean that glace de viande doesn't need to be chilled? I've had veal demi grow nasties after about 6 weeks in the fridge before.

[Mallet]

It's glace de viande that doesn't need refrigeration. Since all the water has been cooked out, bacteria can't grow. It will keep almost indefinitely.

[Corinna Dunne]

Glace de viande... you've got my attention!

I just looked it up in Jacques Pepin's 'La Methode'. It says that if the reduction is correct, it will keep almost indefinitely (loosley wrapped, but not in a closed jar). It doesn't give much direction for this alchemy, apart from mentioning that when the water is evaporated, the mixture becomes firm and can be cut up into cubes for storage.

Does anyone have experience of determining the exact moment when all the liquid has been evaporated as it sounds like timing is an important factor? Also, I presume that this method applies to poultry stock as well as meat. And what about fish stock? I'm fascinated.

[Shalmanese]

I would reduce as far as I'm willing to go on the stovetop until your afraid of it starting to burn, then put it in a 100F oven to let it dehydrate further.

[Corinna Dunne]

Thanks Shalmanese. A great tip. Have you tried this method with poultry or fish stock?

[Mallet]

In Pépin's "Complete Techniques", he says to look at the way the bubbles form on the glace. When they become large (almost like a bubbling caramel) and burst without letting off any steam, the reduction is correct. I've never done it (preferring to stick with demi myself), but the directives sound reasonably clear.

[Corinna Dunne]

Thanks Mallet. My 'La Technique' is old (1985), so doesn't cover this. It sounds like a good rule of thumb. Now all I have to do is make it... sometime!

[Shalmanese]

Thanks Shalmanese.  A great tip.  Have you tried this method with poultry or fish stock?

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No, IMHO, a stock becomes significantly flatter if it's over reduced then rehydrated. Stuff like white chicken stock suffers especially bad since the flavour is so subtle. I've only ever reduced down as far as a demi-glace and that was for serving as-is. But the principle is much the same. If you had a dehydrator, that would work as well as an oven.

[Malawry]

I'm guessing that reduced fish stock would be overly...fishy. Like overcooked fish. Has anybody tried it though?

Stock update: I reduced the 3 gallons into about 2 cups of something between demi-glace and glace de viande. I've decided to use the unreduced turkey stock in the freezer for the gumbo (possibly augmented with a couple tablespoons of the duck demi). I think I can fit a single deli cup of duck yum into my friend's freezer while I'm homeless. It took a ridiculous amount of time on my weak home stove to get the stock down that far--at least 10 hours--but it's done now. Thanks for the tips.

[fiftydollars]

I would reduce it completely, as Jaques Pepin instructs on making glace de viande in his Complete Techniques.

He takes the reduction all the way; drawing out all moisture until large caramel-esque bubbles pop without releasing steam.

I have tried this quite a few times with varying amounts of success. It is incredibly difficult to draw out the very last bit of moisture. As the mixture dehydrates it becomes extremely easy to burn. It also thickens a lot. It gets down to the consistency, viscosity, and tackiness of taffy or caramel and can actually be pulled kind of like sugar. It's pretty cool. Though it didn't seem that way when I was trying to stir the last bit of moisture out of the hot sticky goo.

The last time I made this, due to advise received from good folks here at eG, I didn't bother to go quite as far as trying to draw out all the moisture, the results were still great and I cut the ugliest 5-6 hours out of the preparation. As far as how long it would last, I can't say. Pepin says his glace can stay in a loosely lidded jar in the refrigerator almost indefinitely. Mine was gone in just a few happy weeks.

Edited June 3, 2005 by fiftydollars (log)

[afn33282]

It gets down to the consistency, viscosity, and tackiness of taffy or caramel and can actually be pulled kind of like sugar. It's pretty cool.

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Yes, I have made stock taffy. I dubbed it "kneaded demi-glace" for reasons that are still unclear to me.....

[larousse]

Fish stock can be reduced but the problem is that fish stocks are always cloudy because the flesh discinegrates. To have a nice clear stock or a clean reduced one you can clarify it (a la consomme technique) then reduce (or not). Not a problem with shellfish stocks though. Ice cube trays are my favorite vessel for freezing reduced stocks demis etc.