I made the onion soup last weekend and thought it was wonderful. I used Wolfgang Puck organic beef stock. My only problem is there is quite a lot of sodium in that stock. I am going to try to make my own stock. Has anyone tried to make the stock as Chef Claudio described?
I also made the Onion Soup this week. I used equal parts of Kitchen Basics Beef and Chicken stocks - they have less sodium than some of the other brands and the soup was delicious.
Well I made my own stock. I used Emerile's stock recipe and it was fabulous.
Beef Stock
Recipe Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse
7 pounds beef bones, sawed into 2-inch pieces 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste 2 cups chopped onions 1 cup chopped celery 1 cup chopped carrots 2 cups claret wine 20 peppercorns 5 garlic cloves, peeled 5 bay leaves 1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme 1 1/2 gallons water
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the bones on a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and brush with the tomato paste. Lay the vegetables over the bones. Return to the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Place the pan on the stove and deglaze with the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan for browned particles. Put this mixture in a large stock pot. Add the peppercorns, garlic, and herbs. Season with salt. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 4 hours. Remove from the heat and skim off any fat that has risen to the surface. Strain the liquid and discard the bones.
As Tim and I remember the conversation, Claudio's stock was made with beef bones, chicken bones and veal marrow. I haven't tried this combination yet, but will after the holidays.
I make stock on a fairly regular basis in the winter for soup and freeze any extra in zip lock bags of assorted sizes so that I can pull out anything from a cup to a quart or more when I need it. My method for beef stock is a little less time consuming than Emeril's, but the technique is similar in that the bones are browned in the oven at a high heat (400) and the roasting pan is deglazed with liquid and then added to the other ingredients that go into the stock pot. One difference is that I roast all of the vegetables along with the bones (I don't wait to put them in until later). I cover the bottom of the roasting pan with large chunks of carrots, celery, and onion, as well as large tomatoes cut in half (cut side down) and a whole head of garlic (cloves separated and crushed but not peeled). I cover the vegetables with large beef shanks that have more bone than meat (4-6 depending on size), making sure that the tomatoes and garlic are under the meat to protect them from the high heat. I roast this for !/2 hour and then turn the meat and roast for another 1/2 hour. Then I toss everything into a stock pot or crock pot, cover with water, deglaze the roasting pan with water and add that liquid as well. The seasonings I add at this point are thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves, and Italian flat leaf parsley stems (more flavor than leaves -- I save the stems which normally would be discarded and freeze them in a baggie for this purpose). I don't add salt, pepper or wine since the amount of these ingredients might vary depending on what the stock becomes. I add them later when I make something that calls for the stock.
Some things that I find helpful to cut down on time and mess if you enjoy making stock are a large crock pot (no tending involved -- I often set it on low for 8 hours and let it simmer overnight) and a chennois strainer along with a tall, narrow container into which the stock can be easily strained (usually available and cheaper at a restaurant supply store). I also don't think it's necessary to over prep the vegetables -- cutting the onions in half, for example, instead of chopping works great. The important techniques of roasting, deglazing and simmering for at least 4 hours (sometimes closer to 5 on the stove top) seem to be the recipe for success -- exact amounts of ingredients seem to be less important, although "water to cover" is a good beginning guideline for the liquid measure. Adding too much water will result in a less flavorful stock (more like broth) or take forever to reduce. In the end, you really can't do much to botch stock. I think many a cook has cleaned out the vegetable drawer and used left over bones to start a soup base -- undoubtedly how stock was born.
KITCHEN BASICS STOCK For those moments when homemade stock is not an option (we have many in our house) Kitchen Basics is the best stock we have found. It is available to us in some local, Southern chain grocery stores (Bi Lo & Publix), but for a time when we couldn't find it anywhere, we discovered that you can order it from Kitchen Basics direct by the case (internet). No price break and shipping was extra, but we think it's worth the extra cost for the quality.
yes, we made the onion soup on the last day and it has become a favorite. The secret is to saute the onions for at least an hour! Also, the good stock. Kitchen Basics. Enjoy!
Martha, good to see you up and about. Claudio had us use a cast iron heat diffuser. Don't know how necessary this is because I have not made the soup without it. It allows deep caramelizing without burning.
Tim and Carolyn, I thought of you this week. I made stock! I have decided that I need a stock pot. I want a pot that is tall so that the stock can cook down through all the bones. I am using a 6 1/2 quart Le Creuset and I don't think it is tall enough. (Or maybe I had too many bones!)
If you're looking for a few tips on buying a stock pot, maybe these will be helpful. We own 2 stock pots. One is an 8 qt. Calphalon anodized aluminum that came with the set of pots and pans we bought close to 20 years ago. The other is a 10 qt. heavy guage aluminum that we have also owned forever (so long in fact that neither of us can remember where we found it). Both have heavy duty, large handles that are riveted to the pot -- essential, in my opinion, when you are moving a large pot full of scalding liquid. Our handles are large enough that even when using heavy duty oven mits, I can still get a secure grip.
The Calphalon pot is high quality and the other is somewhere in the middle; not thin and flimsy, but not really heavy like the Calphalon, either. Both make excellent stock. I don't think it's necessary to spend mega bucks for a large stock pot. If you have a restaurant supply store in your area, you'll probably find a great pot at a reasonable price. In terms of size, the 10 qt. can handle an entire 20+ lb. turkey carcass along with the vegetables and liquid. I use it most frequently for poultry stock because I usually have more of these bones than beef or veal.
I still haven't made the "Claudio" stock of mixed origins. Tim made Osso Bucco recently so we now have some veal bones in the freezer. I used all the leftover beef bones that I had been acummulating for a while, however, making stock for my favorite wild mushroom and barley soup. Since I'm appaled at the price per lb. for bones this winter, it will be awile before I try Claudio's version. Has anyone else combined beef, chicken and veal for stock?
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I have not made the stock that Claudio described.
I also made the Onion Soup this week. I used equal parts of Kitchen Basics Beef and Chicken stocks - they have less sodium than some of the other brands and the soup was delicious.
Well I made my own stock. I used Emerile's stock recipe and it was fabulous.
Beef Stock
Recipe Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse
7 pounds beef bones, sawed into 2-inch pieces
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups claret wine
20 peppercorns
5 garlic cloves, peeled
5 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
1 1/2 gallons water
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the bones on a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and brush with the tomato paste. Lay the vegetables over the bones. Return to the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Place the pan on the stove and deglaze with the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan for browned particles. Put this mixture in a large stock pot. Add the peppercorns, garlic, and herbs. Season with salt. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 4 hours. Remove from the heat and skim off any fat that has risen to the surface. Strain the liquid and discard the bones.
HOMEMADE STOCK
As Tim and I remember the conversation, Claudio's stock was made with beef bones, chicken bones and veal marrow. I haven't tried this combination yet, but will after the holidays.
I make stock on a fairly regular basis in the winter for soup and freeze any extra in zip lock bags of assorted sizes so that I can pull out anything from a cup to a quart or more when I need it. My method for beef stock is a little less time consuming than Emeril's, but the technique is similar in that the bones are browned in the oven at a high heat (400) and the roasting pan is deglazed with liquid and then added to the other ingredients that go into the stock pot. One difference is that I roast all of the vegetables along with the bones (I don't wait to put them in until later). I cover the bottom of the roasting pan with large chunks of carrots, celery, and onion, as well as large tomatoes cut in half (cut side down) and a whole head of garlic (cloves separated and crushed but not peeled). I cover the vegetables with large beef shanks that have more bone than meat (4-6 depending on size), making sure that the tomatoes and garlic are under the meat to protect them from the high heat. I roast this for !/2 hour and then turn the meat and roast for another 1/2 hour. Then I toss everything into a stock pot or crock pot, cover with water, deglaze the roasting pan with water and add that liquid as well. The seasonings I add at this point are thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves, and Italian flat leaf parsley stems (more flavor than leaves -- I save the stems which normally would be discarded and freeze them in a baggie for this purpose). I don't add salt, pepper or wine since the amount of these ingredients might vary depending on what the stock becomes. I add them later when I make something that calls for the stock.
Some things that I find helpful to cut down on time and mess if you enjoy making stock are a large crock pot (no tending involved -- I often set it on low for 8 hours and let it simmer overnight) and a chennois strainer along with a tall, narrow container into which the stock can be easily strained (usually available and cheaper at a restaurant supply store). I also don't think it's necessary to over prep the vegetables -- cutting the onions in half, for example, instead of chopping works great. The important techniques of roasting, deglazing and simmering for at least 4 hours (sometimes closer to 5 on the stove top) seem to be the recipe for success -- exact amounts of ingredients seem to be less important, although "water to cover" is a good beginning guideline for the liquid measure. Adding too much water will result in a less flavorful stock (more like broth) or take forever to reduce. In the end, you really can't do much to botch stock. I think many a cook has cleaned out the vegetable drawer and used left over bones to start a soup base -- undoubtedly how stock was born.
KITCHEN BASICS STOCK
For those moments when homemade stock is not an option (we have many in our house) Kitchen Basics is the best stock we have found. It is available to us in some local, Southern chain grocery stores (Bi Lo & Publix), but for a time when we couldn't find it anywhere, we discovered that you can order it from Kitchen Basics direct by the case (internet). No price break and shipping was extra, but we think it's worth the extra cost for the quality.
Happy cooking!!
Carolyn
I'm going to make the soup soon. I don't remember having it in Italy, though. Was it something you guys had after I left?
yes, we made the onion soup on the last day and it has become a favorite. The secret is to saute the onions for at least an hour! Also, the good stock. Kitchen Basics. Enjoy!
Martha, good to see you up and about.
Claudio had us use a cast iron heat diffuser. Don't know how necessary this is because I have not made the soup without it. It allows deep caramelizing without burning.
Diane, nice touch with the pic
Tim and Carolyn, I thought of you this week. I made stock! I have decided that I need a stock pot. I want a pot that is tall so that the stock can cook down through all the bones. I am using a 6 1/2 quart Le Creuset and I don't think it is tall enough. (Or maybe I had too many bones!)
Hi Diane!
If you're looking for a few tips on buying a stock pot, maybe these will be helpful. We own 2 stock pots. One is an 8 qt. Calphalon anodized aluminum that came with the set of pots and pans we bought close to 20 years ago. The other is a 10 qt. heavy guage aluminum that we have also owned forever (so long in fact that neither of us can remember where we found it).
Both have heavy duty, large handles that are riveted to the pot -- essential, in my opinion, when you are moving a large pot full of scalding liquid. Our handles are large enough that even when using heavy duty oven mits, I can still get a secure grip.
The Calphalon pot is high quality and the other is somewhere in the middle; not thin and flimsy, but not really heavy like the Calphalon, either. Both make excellent stock. I don't think it's necessary to spend mega bucks for a large stock pot. If you have a restaurant supply store in your area, you'll probably find a great pot at a reasonable price. In terms of size, the 10 qt. can handle an entire 20+ lb. turkey carcass along with the vegetables and liquid. I use it most frequently for poultry stock because I usually have more of these bones than beef or veal.
I still haven't made the "Claudio" stock of mixed origins. Tim made Osso Bucco recently so we now have some veal bones in the freezer. I used all the leftover beef bones that I had been acummulating for a while, however, making stock for my favorite wild mushroom and barley soup. Since I'm appaled at the price per lb. for bones this winter, it will be awile before I try Claudio's version. Has anyone else combined beef, chicken and veal for stock?
Happy kitchen shopping and stock making!!
Carolyn
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