White Stock

How to make White Stock Recipe

4 SERVINGS

Ingredients:
6 quarts Water, cold
8 pounds Beef, veal, or chicken bones

for the mirepoix:
2 cups Onions, in large dice
1 cup Carrots, in large dice
1 cup Celery, in large dice

for the sachet d’épices:
1/2 teaspoon Thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon Black peppercorns, cracked
3–4 Parsley stems
1 Garlic clove, crushed

Method:
Bring the water to a boil in a 10-quart (9.5 l) stockpot. Place the bones in the stockpot, return to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat.

Strain the bones, discard the liquid, and rinse the bones under cold running water.

Clean the stockpot, add the rinsed bones and water to cover, bring to a boil, and simmer over low heat. Skim the surface, removing and discarding any impurities. Simmer the stock for 6 to 8 hours (3 to 4 hours for chicken bones). Continue to skim the surface regularly, discarding the impurities.

Add the mirepoix ingredients.

Place the sachet d’épices ingredients in a small square of cheesecloth, tie with twine, and add to the simmering stock.

Continue to simmer gently for 1 additional hour.

Strain the stock through several layers of cheesecloth that have been rinsed in cold water and placed in a conical strainer.

Chef Tips:
White stock is a flavorful liquid made from beef, veal, or chicken bones simmered in water with vegetables and seasonings for 6 to 8 hours (3 to 5 hours for chicken bones).The resulting liquid should be clear and without color, highly aromatic, and gelatinous. For a neutral flavor, veal bones are suggested.The standard ratio of ingredients used to prepare white stock is 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of beef, veal, or poultry bones; 6 quarts (5.7 l) of cold water; 1 pound (460 g) of mirepoix; and 1 sachet d’épices or bouquet garni per gallon of finished stock.

Blanching the bones before making a white stock is an optional step. Chefs today disagree on whether or not this is necessary; the question has to do with the loss of flavor during the blanching process.Although the process does take away a little flavor from the resulting product, blanching the bones gives the finished stock
extra clarity. If the bones are very fresh, blanching is certainly not necessary, as extremely fresh bones provide both maximum flavor and clarity to stocks made with them. If the bones are frozen or a few days old, they should be blanched. If you choose to blanch the bones, do so with water that is boiling so that as little flavor as possible is lost.