Category: Thanksgiving/Christmas

Chicken (or Turkey) Stock

Take Stock in Stock

Chicken broth is made from the whole bird or meaty bits; stock is made with just the bones.

 

A good foundation is key

Chicken or turkey stock is an easy thing to make.  The most critical ingredient is time.

Every cook who can speak has a procedure for stock.  Me too. Stocks are the extraction of the flavor of the animal from the bones.  Broth is the same thing but with meat.  There is some science to stocks but not enough to scare you away.  The basics of science are don’t let the goo which rises to the top settle back into the stock.  That’s a off tasting mess of impurities and we “skim the scum” to keep the stock from being cloudy, an important consideration for clear soups, and from tasting funky.  Stock ought to taste like the animal then the veggies and seasonings.  That’s it.

Basics of cooking don’t always have exact measures and that can sometimes cause anxiety with cooks.  The reason is we’ve done these steps so often we depend on the result.  Baking is a different matter, mostly, than cooking.  Adhere to the two basics from above and the guidelines which follow and you’ll be fine.

What do I do?

Add the chicken backs and necks to a pot large enough to hold them.  In most kitchens that’s the 6-8 quart pot.  Add cold water to cover by two inches, set on a burner and bring to a boil.  Assemble a small ladle or large serving spoon and a small metal or heat-proof plastic bowl.  When the stock boils, reduce the heat to medium low and skim the scum and fat which rises.  Push down on the bones to separate them and allow more scum to rise.  Once you have eliminated the yuck, you’re mostly done.  Simmer the bones for 2 hours. After two hours add 1 carrot sliced into 1/4 inch rounds, 1 stalk celery cut the same and 1 medium white onion cut into 8ths.  Add them to the stock, push the vegetables into the pan and let that return to a simmer.  Cook for 30 minutes, then add 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, a sprig of fresh thyme and/or parsley stems.  I avoid dry herbs in stock for they are very potent.  Better to go without that overpower the stock.  Cook that another 15 minutes, then strain the stock.

I strain into a pot in the sink just in case I miss and mess.  But, be sure the pot is in the sink else your stock goes down the drain.

This basic procedure works for all stocks.  Beef and veal stocks have a few additional steps which can be challenging and the time ingredient is substantially longer.  If you wish to try a veal or beef stock, send me an email and I will walk you through the steps.

Stocks can be frozen in ice cube trays and then in zip top bags.  Having a few tablespoons at a time of stock always ready is a good trick.

Here’s my recipes page to help you find some ideas for more meals.

 

Thanksgiving Dressing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dressing-Not Stuffing-For Thanksgiving

My wife’s maternal grandmother, Grandma Doris, made dressing every Thanksgiving.  I never met her, but from the memories she and her mom have shared about Doris, I would have enjoyed eating her food.  Story has it that her Lane Cake was the best ever after the inventor’s.

Of course my family had its own traditions and my mom made stuffing (a colloquialism perhaps but also a pretty safe delineation of geography: dressing is South, stuffing is North.  This is my first year out west so I don’t know what they call it out here).  When we had our first Thanksgiving together the question of which dressing or stuffing we would make seemed to each of us a no-brainer.  Well, I was newly married so I didn’t know: her’s was the right answer.

My mother-in-law has been making that dressing for a long time, starting at Granny apron stings.  This is exactly how she wrote the recipe.

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First and foremost I make a rich broth using chicken backs–seasoned 2/ onions, celery, carrots, salt, pepper & bay leaf.  duh, strain when done!

I make the cornbread recipe on Martha White self rising cornmeal cooked in a larger pan than recommended so cornbread is crunchy–for making dressing mix 60/40 cornbread and white bread which has been toasted- I do in oven for quantity.

I salute green onion tops and bottoms (a small bunch), 2 or 3 stalks of celery in butter until tender.  mix into cornbread mixture.

I add 2 eggs.  Mix gently.

I add poultry seasoning- I like the taste so I use quite a bit– add salt pepper  as needed.  then add broth–the mixture needs to be more mushy than you would think to not be dry.

mix well– I usually do by hand tho get the right consistency.  I bake in a rectangle, not too deep pan, at 350 for about 1/2 hour.  (so crispy on outside but moist inside)O yum yum!!! enjoy and have a wunnerful Thanksgiving.

How Good Is It?

The errors are hers.  It was an email so we can overlook those boo-boos for the sake of carrying on family tradition.

So, the dressing really is good.  Did I say good?  It is very very good.  Well worth the effort to make a big ole batch, for you see, it crisps up ever so nice on the stove the next day and slathered with gravy, well, who needs turkey?

I never have cared for stuffing and after teaching sanitation class at culinary school, I care less for it.

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The details.

*Martha is a southern brand and totally unnecessary.  (I’ve been corrected about this by none other than the finished product.  Any will not just suffice.  I resort to making it: 2 C corn meal, 1 T baking powder, 1 t salt)  Any self rising (yeah, I know, but this is the only time I use it) cornmeal mix will suffice.  Make 1 recipe.  Thin is good for the crisp.  *White bread: basic, well not Wonder, that’s too basic, but store brand white bread, about 2/3 of the loaf toasted very dry in the oven.  Dry is more important than color.

*She’s not kidding about an abundance of poultry seasoning.  I think we use 2/3 of an 18 gram container.

*Stock matters and a well made stock is critical.  If you have extra, use it for gravy for dinner or gravy for the turkey hash you’ll eat for breakfast the next morning.

*Half an hour is a pipe dream if you have made the dressing the day before and stored it in the cooler.  Yes, that can be done.  If that’s the case, bank on 50 minutes or more.  Be sure to get the edges crispy for those are the best bits.