Bones for stock

[Jock]

Originally Posted by MikeLM

Jock-
I have to admit that I've never made a stock the long, slow way because my wife came with her mother's pressure-cooker recipe and when I got interested in cooking she pulled it out and we always used it. The stock is very gelatinious when cooled if your bones proportion is right. It is also a little cloudy, but I've never considered that to be a problem. I'm not trying to impress customers, so I don't care. It does taste great.

Mike

Thanks Mike. I must say I am surprised but I think I will stick to the conventional method anyway. I get a kind of perverse pleasure from going through the whole process.

Jock

[OahuAmateurChef]

Originally Posted by Jock

Thanks Mike. I must say I am surprised but I think I will stick to the conventional method anyway. I get a kind of perverse pleasure from going through the whole process.

Jock

It makes the kitchen smell good for a long time too!

[OahuAmateurChef]

Originally Posted by Blueicus

...I could see a potential problem of a pressure cooker in that it would make a stock cloudy since I assume the stock is going to be very agitated throughout the entire cooking process...

It will be cloudy, but that doesn't matter if you run the stock through a strainer afterwards.

[eugene]

I now discovered that in order to make some 8 cups of beef stock I need about 2 kg(4 pounds) of bones. That's quite a considerable amount of money to spend. I don't eat beef meat except ground one, so I don't collect bones in my fridge, therefore I see no cheaper way to get bones other than buying them(its for 2/3 a price of ground meat in my store).
Are stocks really so expensive or am I wrong about the recipe?

[mudbug]

eugene,

Visit local butchers in your area and chat with them. You might be able to get bones for free or for very low cost. If you can't find them for a reasonable price, it would probably be best for you to go ahead and purchase the pre-made stock.

[Jock]

Originally Posted by eugene

I now discovered that in order to make some 8 cups of beef stock I need about 2 kg(4 pounds) of bones. That's quite a considerable amount of money to spend. I don't eat beef meat except ground one, so I don't collect bones in my fridge, therefore I see no cheaper way to get bones other than buying them(its for 2/3 a price of ground meat in my store).
Are stocks really so expensive or am I wrong about the recipe?

Where do you buy your bones that they are so expensive? Mudbug is right, check around some butcher shops - not the supermarket - for cheaper bones.

Jock

[Waltwill6]

I've run into the same problem with supermarkets. They can sell what bones they get for hamburger prices to dog owners.

But, one of my fishing buddies sons in law raises cattle. Hmm.

[firiki03]

I do not use Knorr or Maggi cubes in my cooking as my husband does not like them so I do my own stock. Whenever I have a large amount of bones especially when my regular butchers gave them to me for free, I would boil them in a pot over slow fire (I have a pressure cooker but prefer to use the old method), transfer it into smaller containers and freeze them. That way it makes cooking very easy for me. All I have to do is to defrost the broth in the microwave oven when I have need of it.

[eugene]

Ok, thanks, I'll try to find a good bones source :-)
Another question about the stock. If I get 6 cups of stock, then reduce it to 2 cups. Then I will freeze it. Later when I need the stock, I will mix the 2 cups of the reduced stock with 4 cups of water.
Will the resulting 6 cups of stock will be the same as the original 6 cups, or more delluted and less flavorful?

I just need some way to save space in my freezer because its always full.

[firiki03]

Yes you can do it to save space. The taste will be the same.

[eugene]

Ok, good. Then the only thing that evaporates is water. I'll remember it for my next endevours.

[Grumio]

I have freezer-space problems too, & until a year ago I made do with canned stock, figuring I couldn't store a gallon of stock - & stock really becomes worthwhile only if you can make large batches. Then it dawned on me that that pressure cooker I never use is a CANNER. I'd never canned anything before. It's easy. I now have a cabinet full of stocks & glazes.

I used to be quite pleased with my results using canned chicken broth & figured homemade would be nice, but... I was wrong. Good homemade stock makes a HUGE difference, not a small one.

I've had great results with large batches in a stockpot & small ones in the slow cooker (I will never throw another bone away). Anyone else use a pressure cooker to can stock? I can't imagine the relatively high heat is exactly good for it, but I don't really have a choice.

[OahuAmateurChef]

Originally Posted by Grumio

I have freezer-space problems too, & until a year ago I made do with canned stock, figuring I couldn't store a gallon of stock - & stock really becomes worthwhile only if you can make large batches. Then it dawned on me that that pressure cooker I never use is a CANNER. I'd never canned anything before. It's easy. I now have a cabinet full of stocks & glazes...

What a great idea. I know nothing about canning but I am going to read up on it now.

I just made a vegetable stock batch for the first time. Luckily my freezer is not too full right now. I can see how having chicken broth, beef broth, and veggie broth would fill a freezer quickly.

What is the basic idea with canning and a pressure cooker? I can't begin to grasp how you go about it.

[Grumio]

Originally Posted by OahuAmateurChef

What is the basic idea with canning and a pressure cooker?

Get some Mason jars. Kern & Ball are the two brands I've used; you can find them in some grocery stores & hardware stores, & they're pretty cheap. Pour your hot stock into hot clean jars, put the lids on, put them on that otherwise useless rack that came with your pressure cooker, couple inches of hot water & a bit of vinegar around them (the jars in the pressure cooker, not in the stock), do 'em for 15-20 minutes @ 10 lbs pressure, & Robert's your mother's brother. Detailed instructions @ the manufacturer's websites.

I have an 8 quart Mirro pressure cooker; it'll do 8 1-cup jars or 7 pint jars at a time. The jars & the rings (the threaded bits) are reusable; you can buy the lids (the flat bits with the sealing compound) separately.

Anyone else out there done this?

[OahuAmateurChef]

I take it you completely fill the jars with stock (no air) so that there is no risk of explosion?