Crock pot stock

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EL Alamein
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Crock pot stock

Post by EL Alamein »

Has anyone used the crock pot method of making stock?

I've been finding that using a crock pot to make stock is an excellent way.

Over the past few years I've always wanted to make more stock from our meals when the ingredients are at hand but it can be a bit cumbersome taking up a burner on our stove and needing attendance.

We eat dinner late, around seven PM. Traditional stock needs attendance for a few hours to make correctly. Being late in the Evening for dinner I don't have the time so I found this method.

When we have something like roast whole chicken or ham or the like, after carving I take the carcass and chop it with a meat clever. I add that to the crock along with the traditional aromatic vegetables and seasonings, just takes a few moments before serving the meat, then lid the crock and set it on warm. I let it steep like that for at least twenty two hours and strain. Stripping the meat is a cinch, takes a few minutes. Then I add the soup ingredients and set back on warm. Makes an excellent soup for a first course or for breakfasts, lunches etc. You can freeze anything that doesn't get eaten and use it for a later meal.

Great way to extend meals more easily. Hope that helps.

Chris
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by ShadowsDad »

Sounds good. Never tried it.
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drmoss_ca
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by drmoss_ca »

What a good idea!
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fallingwickets
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by fallingwickets »

Chris, just to clarify....crock is set to warm, not low?
thanks
clive
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CMur12
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by CMur12 »

Sounds good and convenient, Chris. Thanks.

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EL Alamein
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by EL Alamein »

Clive, yes, set to warm. I looked into it and warm is supposedly high enough to kill bacteria so no worries there.

The primary goal in most traditional stock recipes is to avoid incorporating the "scum" that rises to the top of the stock when first brought slowly to the boil. Why, I can't remember, but I guess it affects flavor. The traditional method is to bring the stock to a slight boil then skim off the scum and let it simmer barely until done. This crock method avoids that altogether because the scum never forms because the stock never boils but remains always at a simmer when it comes to temperature. Therefore this is a low attendance method.

Another great feature is one can avoid precise water recommendations for stock making. This is so because you can use whatever amount of water is necessary to cover the stock ingredients. Once your stock is made it's a simple task of straining it then of boiling it down, if need be, to whatever concentration you like (concentrating flavor). Then you can return the stock to the crock and add whatever soup ingredients you desire. Set it on warm again and in an hour or two you have excellent soup.

Chris
EL Alamein
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by EL Alamein »

Also, as an aside, I forgot to mention that for those of us who like to cook in the French method you can boil down the stock until it's very concentrated then let cool and freeze it in ice cube trays. You can then us those cubes like you would bullion to flavor sauces etc. Haven't tried it yet but anticipate doing so.

Chris
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fallingwickets
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by fallingwickets »

serious eats did a piece a while back on the subject of skimming etc....here it is for anyone that's interested:

https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/10/how ... stock.html

I'm defintely planning on trying the stockpot method...will revert with opinions when done :D :D

clive
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EL Alamein
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by EL Alamein »

Clive, I loved that article and I'm very interested in learning how you fair when trying it. Thanks for posting it.

Great stock is wonderful for enhancing the flavor of soups and meals. I'm anxious to learn how to improve my own methods.

Chris
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drmoss_ca
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by drmoss_ca »

Interesting articles on stock-making. Since I principally cook for a vegetarian, I don't get to make chicken stock, and fish stock is pretty much only good for fish dishes, so it comes to vegetable stock, which is hard to make very tasty as the umami-quality is lacking unless you make a special effort. Dried morels, fake black truffle oil certainly help. We occasionally find sheets of dried Japanese seaweed, so I'll try those.
I used to use a slow-cooker a lot for stews, but I've never got the same results as from a large pot on the stove, probably because I ended up adding too much water. I do use a pressure cooker a lot, simply for speed since dried beans and chickpeas are used a lot in this household. Now I keep coming across references to an 'Instant Pot' which is a combination programmable slow and pressure cooker invented in Canada. There was a time when I would have bought one out of curiosity, but a crowded kitchen and reduced circumstances make me leary. Does anyone have experience with them? Worthwhile, reliable?
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EL Alamein
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by EL Alamein »

Dr. Moss, I am curious too about the InstaPot.

My current boss recommended one and my curiosity was piqued when she mentioned the speed at which is supposedly cooked.

I did look into it a bit and my enthusiasm was dampened because I came to the conclusion that it's really just a pressure cooker that also slow cooks amongst other things.

I am not really interested in a pressure cooker because of an old bias I read years ago in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" that warned against pressure cookers because they produced inferior results with regards to flavor. But that may change as technology has changed and I just need more feedback in order to consider it.

The time reduction is alluring due to restraints of both spouses working and the need to feed a household of seven each Evening. We've adjusted to that with habits that mitigate that constraint so I have to be moved to try one.

I'm open to the possibility but I have to be sold on more than just convenience and marketing lure. If anyone has positive results please share.

Chris
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fallingwickets
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by fallingwickets »

people swear by their instant pots, but i for one am not that impressed. Maybe I'm missing something but the time savings don't seem that great to me. For instance beans. Recipes call for about 30-40 minutes to pressure cook beans but that doesnt include the time it takes the pot to come to pressure or the natural pressure release afterwards! On the stove they take about an hour. The only time 'save' is from the pre soak part. One downside to the instant pot is that you have to wait for the very end to see how your dish turns out. on the stove or in the oven you can check any time and end or continue the process as you see fit. In any event, I own an instant pot but wouldnt recommend a purchase

clive
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Re: Crock pot stock

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Dried beans take 40 minutes in my conventional pressure cooker, and that's with cooling it at twenty minutes, adding more water and cooling it again at the end. Cooling is pretty quick as I can place the whole thing in the sink and run cold water over the outside, which would be impossible with an electronic device. (Why not just start with more water? Too much will cause superheated water to spit out of the steam release valve, and too little will burn the beans. Ask me how I know!) Having one device instead of two on limited counter space would be attractive, but it sounds as if it would just result in a different flavour of irritation and frustration. Oh, well.

Talking of pressure cookers, I also have a giant 23qt one made for pressure canning, which is 1.5ft tall:
412asqwx_el_1___14176.1545243993.jpg
412asqwx_el_1___14176.1545243993.jpg (25.75 KiB) Viewed 10237 times
Amusingly I bought that on the same day as I ordered 4lb of Pyrodex, a black powder substitute for muzzle loaders. Later that day the news of the Boston Marathon bomb broke, and I was nervously awaiting a visit from the men in black for a while! Gotta love kit with steam pressure gauges on it!
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fallingwickets
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by fallingwickets »

and I was nervously awaiting a visit from the men in black for a while! Gotta love kit with steam pressure gauges on it!
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

clive
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fallingwickets
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by fallingwickets »

back to report on my little chicken soup adventure. I made chicken soup in the crock pot a few days ago and it turned out quite nicely. Onion, carrot, parsnip, garlic, a bit of soy sauce, salt, pepper two boneless skinless breasts, two regular thighs, 8 cups of water....8 hours on low; totally delicious

clive
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brothers
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by brothers »

Clive, I love soup. Can't get enough soup. The crock pot chicken soup is making my mouth water already!
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EL Alamein
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by EL Alamein »

I made brown stock this weekend in conjunction with the Crock Pot method.

It's in the garage fridge now and I'll remove the fat tomorrow and boil it down to a glaze. The intention is to use it for sauces etc while cooking.

We've been buying Minor's beef base for years and it's fantastic so I thought I'd make my own this time. Homemade is always better.

I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Chris
EL Alamein
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Re: Crock pot stock

Post by EL Alamein »

Well, I de-greased the stock today and reduced it to a syrup. Put the syrup in a small Mason jar and put it in the fridge.

Tonight we had roast beef with homemade gravy and I used my syrup to make the stock for the gravy.

What I found interesting is that my syrup turned into a rubbery texture. It was stiff and hard to get out of the jar but I managed to get about a teaspoon out and add it to water. I then brought it to the simmer in the microwave and added it to my roux. The result was the same as if I used the Minor's.

I was a bit shocked having never done this before. I wondered if the family would notice a difference. Nope, they all gave it thumbs up and said it was as good as ever. I made homemade dinner rolls to go with it and they mopped it up with them.

I think in the future I'll not reduce so much and leave it a little more hydrated for ease of use.

Works a treat though and was pretty easy to make. I plan to do this more often.

Hope someone finds it useful.

Chris
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