Brown Chicken Stock Recipe

This rich, luscious stock is a wonderful foundation for sauces, gravies, soups, and braises.

Servings: 3-4 quarts

5 lbs. chicken parts (necks, backs, carcasses, wings, bones (what ever you have or have save over.)

2 yellow onions, roughly cubed

3 large carrots, peeled and roughly cubed

2 celery stalks, roughly cubed

Water to cover

3 garlic cloves, crushed with peel on

1 bay leaf

4 thyme sprigs

10-12 parsley stems

8 whole black peppercorns

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400o F.

Place the chicken parts in a Shallow Roasting Pan and place in oven to roast for about 20 minutes or just starting to brown.

Add onions, carrots, and celery to roasting pan and toss together with the bones.

Return pan to oven and roast for another 10-15 minutes or until the bones and vegetables are all browned.

Remove contents from roasting pan and place in a deep stock pot on the stove.

Drain off any grease from roasting pan and then place pan on stovetop over high heat.

Add about an inch of water to the pan and as the water simmers scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Add the contents of the roasting pan to the stock pot with the bones and vegetables.

Add enough water to the pot to cover the contents by about 2 inches.

Turn the burner on high and bring the pot to a rapid simmer.

Once simmering, turn the heat under the pot down and use a ladle to remove the froth that rises to the surface.

Place the remaining ingredients in a piece of cheesecloth and tie into a bundle with kitchen twine.

Add to the stock pot.

Allow the stock to remain at a slow simmer for about 3 hours, adding more water if the water level goes beneath the solid contents of the pot.

Strain the stock into a cheesecloth lined strainer and press gently to extract as much liquid as possible from the solids.

Cool the stock down completely over an ice bath and then place in the refrigerator until chilled and the fat has solidified on the surface.

Lift the fat from the surface of the stock and store the stock in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.~~Al (Alex-Alexander) D Girvan.

Scotch Broth: An Authentic Hearty Soup From Scotland

Scotch Broth is an authentic Scottish soup that’s warming, hearty and full of flavour. Also called Hotchpotch or Hotchpotch, Scotch Broth is a potage made of boiled mutton, barley, swedes (rutabaga), onions, carrots, leeks, and celery. This dish originates from austere times in Scotland’s history when scrapping a meagre living from the land was the best most could hope for. As such, the mutton could be changed to marrowbone or whatever cut of meat or fowl was available at the time. Similarly, the choice of vegetables and how much were used was also dictated by availability.

Scotch Broth Recipe

Ingredients:

2.2 litres water

1tsp Salt

2lb (1kg) Mutton

1 large onion medium dice

1 large leek medium dice

3oz (75g) split peas

3oz (75g) pearl barley

3 carrots peeled and diced

¼ Small cabbage shredded

1 medium swede (rutabaga) peeled and diced (medium)

2 sticks celery (medium dice)

Method:

Soak the pearl barley and the split peas for a minimum of 3 hours, preferably overnight (rinse before adding to pot)

Trim fat from mutton

Place mutton, barley and peas in cold water and slowly bring to a simmer

Simmer for 45 minutes with lid on skimming any fat or residue that floats to the surface

Add the remaining vegetables and simmer gently until lamb is thoroughly cooked

Remove lamb from pot and separate the meat from the bone

Return meat to pot

Serve while hot

BROWN SAUCE OR ESPAGNOLE

Quantities Required for Four Quarts: 

One lb. of brown roux dissolved in a tall, thick stock pot with six quarts of brown stock or estouffade. Put the saucepan on an open fire, and stir the sauce with a paddle or whip, and do not leave it until it begins to boil. Then remove the whip, and put the stock on a corner of the fire, letting it lean slightly to one side with the help of a wedge, so that boiling may only take place at one point, and that the inert principles thrown out by the sauce during reduction may accumulate high up in the stock pot, whence they can be easily removed as they collect.

It is advisable during reduction to change saucepans twice or even three times, straining every time, and adding a quart of brown stock to replace what has evaporated. At length, when the sauce begins to get lighter, and about two hours before finally straining it, two lbs. of fresh tomatoes, roughly cut up,
NOTE: Remember, Espagnole is a derivative of Demiglace-the basic brown sauce-it is NOT the other way around; but tomatoes were not an ingredient of the original Espagnole sauce either.

Glace de cusine is any rich stock that is used as a glaze.
The basic, Demiglace is actually any rich stock or broth that is reduced by half or three-quarters to enrich it; it is normally still a relatively thin liquid.

Glace de Viande is made the same way, but it is normally reduced by a factor of 8-10, has a thick syrupy or paste-like consistency, and is much richer. Glace de viande can sometimes be purchased, but is expensive, $30-40 per pint.

Espagnole sauce, which, unlike the other two, now contains tomato and is often, incorrectly[US], referred to as gravy; might be thought of as half way in between.
SEE: Demiglace, Espagnole, Glace de Cusine, Glace de Viande, 

should be added, or an equivalent quantity of tomato purée  and about one lb. of Mirepoix. The sauce is then reduced so as to measure four quarts when strained, after which it is poured into a wide tureen, and must be ‘finished” and kept in motion until quite cool lest a skin should form on its surface.

The time required for the reduction of an Espagnole varies according to the quality of the stock and roux. We saw that one hour sufficed for a concentrated stock and starch roux, in which case the Mirepoix and the tomato are inserted from the first. But much more time is required if one is dealing with a roux whose base is flour. In the latter case six hours

Lenten Espagnole:

Practical men are not agreed as to the need of Lenten Espagnole. The ordinary Espagnole being really a neutral sauce in flavour, it is quite simple to give it the necessary flavour by the addition of the required quantity of fish fumet. It is only, therefore, when one wishes to conform to the demands of a genuine Lent sauce that a fish Espagnole is needed. And, certainly in this case, nothing can take its place. The preparation of this Espagnole does not differ from that of the ordinary kind, except that the bacon is replaced by mushroom parings in the Mirepoix. This sauce takes the place of the ordinary Espagnole, for Lenten preparations.

                  © Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights Reserved.

Sauces Derived From Demi-Glacé:

Bordelaise:

1. Combine 10 ozs. green onions, 2 sprigs thyme. 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp. whole pepper corns with 1 pint red wine.

2. Reduce by 1/2.

3. Add 1 quart Demi-glacé-reduce until veneers back of spoon.

4. Add 4 ozs. poached marrow. Finish.

Chateaubriand Sauce:

1. Combine 1 pint white wine, 14 ozs. shallots, 2 sprigs thyme, mushroom trimmings, and 1 bay leaf

 2. Reduce by half - until veneers back of spoon.

3. Finish with Maitre d' Hotel Butter (butter, lemon juice, minced parsley).

Fines Herbs:

1.  Add fines herbs to 1 qt. demi-glacé.

Jus de Veau Lie:

1. Add a slurry of corn starch or arrowroot to hot demi-glace. 
Madera-

1. To 1 quart of demi-glacé add 8 ozs. Madera.

Marsala Sauce-

1. In 1 quart demi-glacé combine 3 Tbsps. shallots and1/4 tsp. cracked pepper corns.

2. Reduce over moderate heat. Add 3 ozs. Marsala.

Mushroom:

1. Add sliced or whole mushrooms.

Robert Sauce:

1. Sauté 14 ozs. minced onions

2. Add 1 pint white wine; reduce by 3/4.

3. Add 1 quart demi-glacé and reduce by 1/2

4. Dissolve 2 tsps. dry mustard in water. Add to sauce. Finish with butter.

©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.

Gravy Success

1. Lift meat from roasting pan.

2. Drain off excess fat, leaving 2Tbsps. for each cup of gravy desired.

3. Add 2 Tbsps. of flour (or other starch) for every 2 Tbsps. of fat.

4. Blend flour and fat together to form a roux (Do not mix flour and water); the use of a "white-wash or slurry" is the much inferior American method and rather than improving the flavour, leaves a raw flour taste. You are also much more likely to end up with a “lumpy” product, which you will be forced to chew (white-wash was once used to paint fences and out-buildings; which is probably the best use for it).

Stir the roux until it becomes a rich brown colour.

5. Make sure it does not burn.

6. Add one cup cold liquid for each 2 Tbsps. of roux (the liquid may be water, milk or stock-caution must be used to avoid scorching- milk or meat stock.

7. Stir constantly until liquid thickens and comes to a boil.

8. Season with salt and pepper.

Chinese Ginger Barbecue Sauce

Mix  together 1 cup soy sauce, 2 garlic cloves crushed, 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, and ½ cup each of Sherry and Tomato ketchup. Use as a marinade for spareribs and other pork cuts and for basting the meat.

© Al (Alex- Alexander) D. Girvan 1995. All rights reserved.

The Real CHATEAUBRIAND SAUCE and Other Sauces Derived From DEMI- GLACE:

Just in case you may have been wondering, the small rectangle that appears just before the start of each of these recipes is there because blogger was unable to copy my initials as they originally appear on the pages of my Cook Book.  These recipes are all copy righted and I have reserved all rights; however, since some of you have chosen to ignore this fact; copy and then publish them as your own; I do wish that you (especially the Quebec website) would change –or at least look up the meaning of the professional or more technical culinary terms—can be found posted elsewhere in this blog. It would also be nice to be acknowledged.

Bordelaise:

1. Combine 10 ozs. green onions, 2 sprigs thyme. 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsps. whole pepper corns with 1 pint red wine.

2. Reduce by 1/2.

3. Add 1 quart Demi-glace-reduce until coats back of spoon.

4. Add 4 ozs. poached marrow. Finish.

Chateaubriand Sauce:
Two different reductions, combined, then reduced again.

1. Combine and simmer 1 pint white wine, 14 ozs. shallots, 2 sprigs thyme, mushroom trimmings, and 1 bay leaf to make a strong infusion, strain and reduce liquid by half.

 2. Add 1 quart quality Demi-glace-reduce by half =until sauce again veneers the back of spoon.

3. Finish with Maitre d' Hotel Butter (butter, lemon juice, minced parsley).

CHATEAUBRIAND SAUCE No. 2

     1.   Put 1 oz. of diced shallots, a sprig of thyme and a bit of bay leaf, 1oz. of mushroom parings, and 1/4 pint of white wine into a stewpan.

     2.   Reduce the wine almost entirely.

     3.   Add 1/2 pint of veal gravy, and reduce again until the liquid only measures 1/4 pint.

     4.    Strain through cheese cloth, and finish the sauce away from the fire with 4 ozs.  Mattre d'Hotel butter, to which may be added a little minced tarragon.

     5.   Serve with “Chateaubriand." recipe for grilled fillet of beef. 

Fines Herbs:

1.  Add fines herbs to 1 qt. demi-glace.

Jus de Veau Lie:

1. Add a slurry of corn starch or arrowroot to hot demi-glace. Madera-

1. To 1 quart of demi-glace add 8 ozs. Madera.

Marsala Sauce-

1. In 1 quart demi-glace combine 3 Tbsps. shallots and1/4 tsp. cracked pepper corns.

2. Reduce over moderate heat. Add 3 ozs. Marsala.

Mushroom:

1. Add sliced or whole mushrooms.

Robert Sauce:

1. Sauté 14 ozs. minced onions

2. Add 1 pint white wine; reduce by 3/4.

3. Add 1 quart demi-glace and reduce by 1/2

4. Dissolve 2 tsps. dry mustard in water. Add to sauce. Finish with butter.

©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved

Sauces--Why a Roux?

 Why a Roux?

The Three main reasons: it’s quicker, easier, and your food will taste better.

            Unlike the average home cook, the professional seldom, if ever, uses a white wash or slurrie (starch with little or no fat mixed with water) as a thickening agent (as I mentioned in Gravy Success-section 5-chapter 1, not too many years ago this same mixture was used to paint fences, out buildings and sometimes houses).

            When used in this way, flour always has a raw, uncooked taste and any fat rises to the top of the mixture. The simplest, and by far the best, method of thickening sauces is by means of a roux. Equal parts of fat and flour make the best roux. If much more fat than flour is used, again the fat rises to the top of the mixture. If less fat than flour is used, the paste may burn. Therefore, if more fat than flour is required in a sauce, small pieces should be beaten in after the liquid is added and just before the sauce is served: if less fat than starch is required, it is better not to use flour, or make a roux, a slurrie of cornstarch, tapioca, arrowroot or another method of thickening the sauce should be used..

            If a recipe calls for flour, use half as much cornstarch to thicken,1 Tbsp. cornstarch equals 2Tbsps. flour),but corn starch requires longer cooking than flour As with the use of a "white wash"  a quickly cooked cornstarch mixture always has a raw taste. Because of this raw starch taste, all sauces thickened with cornstarch should be cooked for at least fifteen minutes. Standing over hot water in a double boiler for an hour or longer also improves the flavour.

            If a sauce is too thin, it must be thickened by adding more of the thickening agent and recooking it. A starchy sauce or a cream soup is always thinner when hot than when cold. Even the amount of cooling which occurs in transferring a starchy sauce, gravy or soup from the cooking utensil to the serving dish perceptibly thickens it.

            If a sauce is lumpy, because proper precautions have not been taken in mixing and cooking the thickening agent with the liquid, the sauce should be strained; but such a sauce can never have the creamy smooth, velvety texture of a well-made one.

The Roux

The roux being the cohering element of leading sauces, it is necessary to reveal its preparation and constituents before giving one's attention to the latter.

Three kinds of roux are used — namely, brown roux, for brown sauces; pale or white roux, for Veloute, Béchamel,  or actual Cream Sauces-if such is  ever used.

Brown Roux

Quantities for making about One lb:

8 ozs. of clarified butter

9 ozs. of best-quality flour.

Preparation:

Mix the flour and butter in a very thick stew- pan, and put it on the side of the fire or in a moderate oven. Stir the mixture repeatedly so that the heat may be evenly distributed throughout the whole of its volume. The time allowed for the cooking of brown roux cannot be precisely determined, as it depends upon the degree of heat employed. The more intense the latter, the speedier will be the cooking, while the stirring will of necessity be more rapid. Brown roux is known to be cooked when it has acquired a fine, light brown colour, and when it exudes a scent resembling that of the hazel nut and characteristic of baked flour.

It is very important that brown roux should not be cooked too rapidly. As a matter of fact, among the various constituent elements of flour, the starch alone acts as the cohering principle. This starch is contained in little cells, which tightly constrain it, but which are sufficiently porous to permit the percolation of liquid and fatty substances. Under the influence of moderate heat and the in filtered butter, the cells burst through the swelling of the starch, and the latter thereupon completely combines with the butter, fat, or cooking oil; to form a mass capable of absorbing six times its own weight of liquid when cooked.

When the cooking takes place with a very high initial heat the starch gets burned within its shrivelled cells, and swelling is then possible only in those parts which have been least burned. The cohering principle is thus destroyed and double or treble the quantity of roux becomes necessary in order to obtain the required consistency. But this excess of roux in the sauce chokes it up without binding it, and prevents it from becoming clear. At the same time, the cellulose and the burnt starch lend a bitterness to the sauce of which no subsequent treatment can rid it.

Pale Roux:

The quantities are the same as for brown roux, but cooking must cease as soon as the colour of the roux begins to change, and before the appearance of any colouring whatsoever.

The observations I made relative to brown roux, concerning the cohering element, apply also to pale roux.

 White Roux:

Same quantities as for brown and pale roux, but the time of cooking is limited to a few minutes, as it is only needful, in this case, to do away with the disagreeable taste of raw flour which is typical of those sauces in which a whitewash slurry has been used or whose roux has not been sufficiently cooked. 

©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights  reserved.

To Make a Roux, For All Sauces

To Make a Roux

            Because of their cantankerous and obstinate desire to dictate and or be “different” the American method of making a roux is to melt the fat, use less flour and cook only until the mixture bubbles before adding the liquid. This saves time, but at the expense of quality and the flavour of the sauce(A well prepared roux can and WILL add a considerable amount of flavour, longevity, and quality to all gravies and sauces) and is but one of the many reasons why most hotels and fine restaurants employ European trained chefs.

            The French method is to melt the fat, add the flour and cook, with constant stirring, for five minutes, before adding any liquid. This removes the raw taste and gives much better flavour and quality. When flour is cooked, dry heat not only changes the colour but part of the starch to dextrin, as a result, the roux and any sauce made from it has more flavour

For a White Sauce-Melt fat, if necessary and add an equal amount of flour. Cook stirring constantly for about five minutes. Do not allow flour or fat to brown. 

For a Brown Sauce-Melt the fat and allow it to brown before adding flour, then stir in the flour and stir constantly, until the flour is brown. The colour of the roux and there-fore the sauce depends on this browning, but care must be taken not to scorch. This long preliminary cooking is the secret of a successful brown sauce (gravy). Roux can be made at the time a dish is prepared, or it can be made ahead of time and kept in bags or sealed containers.

Beurre Mamie/Kneaded butter-Is made exactly the same way as a roux, and serves exactly the same purpose, except that it is not cooked. Because, like a roux it can be made up ahead and stored, it is much more convenient to use than a white-wash and gives a better flavour but like the white wash it still has a raw taste.

Please refer also to: Song of the Stock Pot- Section 3, Sauce Smarts Through thick and Thin- Section 9- 

Two Basic Brown Stocks "ESTOUFFADE" , For Sauces, Soups, or Stews

Two Basic Brown Stocks "ESTOUFFADE" for Sauces, Soups, or

 Stews 

8 lbs. veal marrow bones, sawed into 2-inch pieces

6 lbs. beef marrow bones, sawed into 2-inch pieces

16 oz. tomato paste

Miro poux :

          4 cups diced onions

          4 cups diced carrots

          2 cups diced celery

4 cups red wine

1 bouquet garni

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Meanwhile place the bones in a roast pan (of course you know by now not to braise) and roast for 1 hour. Remove the bones from the oven and brush with the tomato paste. In a mixing bowl, combine the Miro poux. Lay the vegetables over the bones and return to the oven. Roast for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the roasting pan on stove and deglaze the pan with red wine, and using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan for browned particles.

Put everything into a large stockpot. Add the bouquet garni and season with salt. Add the water. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer the stock for 4 hours, skimming regularly. Remove from the heat and strain through a China cap or tightly meshed strainer.

Brown Stock No. 2

Total ingredients to yield 8-10 quarts:

10 to 12 lbs. veal bones, beef bones, or a combination

3 medium onions, unpeeled, cut in half

4 large carrots, trimmed

1 root end of a whole celery stalk, 4 inches long, plus 2 celery stalks

6 fresh tomatoes cut in half

1 cup parsley, stems only

Cold water to cover ingredients; for full recipe fill 20 qt pot to 2 inches of the rim

Step One: Roast bones and some vegetable pieces

            Place bones and one of the onion, 2 celery stalks and one of the carrots in a large roasting pan. Place pan in a preheated oven and roast ingredients for about ½ hour or until bones are very brown. Turn bones over and continue roasting about 20 minutes until the reverse side is equally brown.

Step two: Make pan bourbon

Remove darkened bones and vegetables from roasting pan and place in a 20 quart stock pot. Place roasting pan over one or more burners and turn heat on to high. Quickly add two quarts of hot water; tap water is fine, to the roasting pan. Using a heavy spatula, loosen all residue on bottom and sides of the roasting pan.

Step Three: Cook the stock:

Pour the now completed pan bourbon into the stock pot. Add the remainder of the ingredients and top off with water to two inches of the rim. Turn heat to high until stock comes to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Skim the top of stock the first 15 minutes. Continue reduction for six hours.

Step Four: Strain and de-fat the stock

Pour the stock through a fine china cap. Discard bones and vegetables. Refrigerate until ready to use and then remove solid fat on the surface with a large spoon.

Remarks Relative to the Making of all Stocks:

Whether brown or white, stock should never be salted,

because it is never served in its original state. It is either

reduced in order to make glazes or sauces — in which case the concentration answers the purpose of seasoning — or else it is used to cook meat; which must be salted before being cooked, and which, therefore, imparts the necessary salt to its surrounding liquor. 

Now that we have sufficient stock on hand, it is time to start making sauces--see the individual recipes.
© Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.