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Starters and Snacks / Chicken Stock Concentrate
« on: November 29, 2010, 12:12:50 pm »
Chicken Stock Concentrate
Ingredients:
One chicken carcass, or equivalent in bones
Two medium carrots, washed and roughly chopped
One onion, peeled and roughly chopped
One or two sticks of celery, washed and roughly chopped
Half a dozen black peppercorns
A bayleaf (optional)
Preparation:
Put the ingredients into the steaming basket - you may have to press down to fit them all in (the carcass will crush into a fairly tight space) - and even then, the lid may only just fit (but it will!).
Put the basket into the jug, and pour in water to come up about halfway into the bowl (i.e. to the top fill level in the jug, but obviously it'll be less than 2 litres, as some of the volume is taken up by ingredients).
Put the jug onto the machine base, and fix the lid - try to press the measuring cup into the hole, but don't worry if it doesn't fit properly - as the meat and vegetables cook, they'll soften and break up, taking up less space.
Set the machine to 100ºC, 30 mins, speed around 2.
After this time, lower the temperature to 90ºC, and set it again for 60 mins, same speed.
Then, remove the basket carefully (using the spatula as a handle), making sure all the liquid drains into the jug.
Reset the machine, without the measuring cap on, to 70ºC, speed 4, for 60 mins.
Check the amount of liquid remaining - the smaller the volume, the more concentrated it is, but you don't want it to boil dry. I'd stick it on for another 30 mins minimum, same speed and temp as the previous step. You are aiming for no more than a couple of cups of liquid at the end (rather less than 500ml I'd say), but it's a matter of taste.
Pour through a sieve into a jug or bowl, leave to cool.
Once cool, place in the fridge, preferably overnight.
Any fat will have risen to the surface and solidified (it does not set hard, more like softened butter). This will separate off from the stock, which should have set into a jelly.
Tips/Hints:
I'd been making stock in my TM for a while, before it occurred to me it would be the perfect device for concentrating it down. The combination of relatively low temperature and high speed means the water evaporates without the flavours becoming too caramelised or even burned.
You can add salt to taste, once the stock has been strained, but it is not essential.
If you use a previously-roasted carcass, you'll get much less fat, but it will still taste good. The fat can be used for softening onions, or in Jewish cooking, or for roasting potatoes.
Other vegetables can be substituted - fennel, celeriac, a few mushrooms, kohl rabi, etc. If you happen not to have onion, try shallots, or leek, or even spring onions or chives (if you're desperate!).
Ingredients:
One chicken carcass, or equivalent in bones
Two medium carrots, washed and roughly chopped
One onion, peeled and roughly chopped
One or two sticks of celery, washed and roughly chopped
Half a dozen black peppercorns
A bayleaf (optional)
Preparation:
Put the ingredients into the steaming basket - you may have to press down to fit them all in (the carcass will crush into a fairly tight space) - and even then, the lid may only just fit (but it will!).
Put the basket into the jug, and pour in water to come up about halfway into the bowl (i.e. to the top fill level in the jug, but obviously it'll be less than 2 litres, as some of the volume is taken up by ingredients).
Put the jug onto the machine base, and fix the lid - try to press the measuring cup into the hole, but don't worry if it doesn't fit properly - as the meat and vegetables cook, they'll soften and break up, taking up less space.
Set the machine to 100ºC, 30 mins, speed around 2.
After this time, lower the temperature to 90ºC, and set it again for 60 mins, same speed.
Then, remove the basket carefully (using the spatula as a handle), making sure all the liquid drains into the jug.
Reset the machine, without the measuring cap on, to 70ºC, speed 4, for 60 mins.
Check the amount of liquid remaining - the smaller the volume, the more concentrated it is, but you don't want it to boil dry. I'd stick it on for another 30 mins minimum, same speed and temp as the previous step. You are aiming for no more than a couple of cups of liquid at the end (rather less than 500ml I'd say), but it's a matter of taste.
Pour through a sieve into a jug or bowl, leave to cool.
Once cool, place in the fridge, preferably overnight.
Any fat will have risen to the surface and solidified (it does not set hard, more like softened butter). This will separate off from the stock, which should have set into a jelly.
Tips/Hints:
I'd been making stock in my TM for a while, before it occurred to me it would be the perfect device for concentrating it down. The combination of relatively low temperature and high speed means the water evaporates without the flavours becoming too caramelised or even burned.
You can add salt to taste, once the stock has been strained, but it is not essential.
If you use a previously-roasted carcass, you'll get much less fat, but it will still taste good. The fat can be used for softening onions, or in Jewish cooking, or for roasting potatoes.
Other vegetables can be substituted - fennel, celeriac, a few mushrooms, kohl rabi, etc. If you happen not to have onion, try shallots, or leek, or even spring onions or chives (if you're desperate!).
for 10-20 minutes. The jug keeps its heat very well - it'll stay warm long enough to serve over the course of one to two hours, unless you top it up with more cider. If you do, add more sugar and apples but leave the spices and zest in - they'll do for several batches. Reset the temperature and time for each batch.
I'm so glad there are resources like this forum for users - especially as the TM is a bit different to other food mixers/processors.