I cannot stress the importance of using and knowing how to prepare a stock. This ingredient will help elevate any sauce you want to make. It adds richness, color, and flavor.
Dark Stock
It’s basically the same ingredients as a broth but more flavor, color, and texture is added by roasting some of the ingredients
Active time: 20 min
Total: 3-8 hrs
1 large onion cut in quarters (2-3 medium sized)
2 stalks of celery
3 carrots peeled
3 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
2-3 sprigs of parsley
2-3 sprigs of thyme
salt and pepper to taste- Be careful with the amount of salt as the liquid will reduce. Adjust the seasoning at the end.
~2 kg (4 lbs) of bones and/or meat with bone-
If veal or beef: preferably with marrow, beef shank is a good option. Ask your butcher to give you the part of the shank that has more bone rather than meat (all the good flavor is in there).
If chicken: I prefer wings, legs, thighs, neck and carcass
Preheat oven to 375°F/195°C. Assemble bones and meat in a roasting pan and put it in the oven. In the mean time peel and roughly chop into large chunks the onion, carrots, and celery (remove any leaves as they might burn). Place them in a lightly oiled roasting pan. Once the meat has acquired a light brown hue, at least 20 min, put the roasting pan containing the veggies in the oven alongside the other roasting pan. Continue roasting the meat and the vegetables for another 20 to 30 minutes. Be careful, we don’t want any black color only a beautiful caramelized tone on both the meat and the veggies. Once the desired color has been acquired, place the contents of both roasting pans in a pot and fill with 4-5 liters of COLD water. Add the rest of the ingredients, remember be wary of the salt as the liquid will reduce. Bring the contents up to nearly a boil and then reduce to simmer.
Continue as explained in the Broth section.
I should mention that when I’m feeling lazy, but I still want a nice dark broth, I roast the meat and bones, but skip the vegetable-roasting step. I know, I know… how can I skip roasting the vegetables!? Even though I sacrifice some depth in flavor, roasting
the bones still yields a rich and flavorful result.
Hope this was helpful!
Kitchen Nani 
me encanto, Great idea! I can’t wait to read the next entries.
CARCASS!!!
Are you a cook or a witch?!?
hahahahaha! hilarious gui!
Hello Kitchenani, I’ve once tried a delightful consommé with an avocado and mushroom custard and is now wondering how to make it for the Xmas dinner. Could you help out? ;) Thanks!
Hey! I’m actually going to do the avocado custard for Christmas too, so I’ll be posting the recipe really soon! The custard is really easy to make and can be made a day in advance.
As for the soup, I use a dark stock (veal or beef), which I also make a few days in advance. The day of, I start by sauteeing an array of mushrooms (I prefer using fleshier kinds like shiitake) in olive oil and a bit of butter. Once they get a nice color I add the stock (you can deglaze with wine before adding the stock). I add sprigs of thyme and let it simmer for a short time so that the mushrooms don’t overcook.
To serve I remove the custard from the mold and place it in the plate, carefully pour the broth around it, and served immediately! As the custard will start to dissolve in the hot broth if not
eatenenjoyed right away.Hope this helps!!
Ps. If you need the recipe right away let me know and I’ll do a quick post on it!
Hello, that sounds already awesome! I’m planning to make it on the 24th so if you can post it before that’ll be great otherwise, I’ll attempt it for New Year. Thanks :)