The Foundation of Good Cooking - Good Stock,That Cooking Thing 🍳

Have you ever made a soup or sauce and thought, “Something’s missing”?

Sometimes that something is stock.

In this episode of That Cooking Thing, Chef Jonathan Frazier talks about one of the basic building blocks of cooking: making a good stock.

Stock isn’t complicated, and you don’t need a fancy kitchen or a long list of ingredients to make it. Jonathan walks through the basics, from bones and vegetables to aromatics and seasoning, and explains what each one is actually doing.

We’ll also talk about the difference between stock and broth, why you want to simmer instead of boil, why you skim your stock, and how to know when it’s ready.

And one of the biggest things with stock is learning not to waste food. Those chicken bones, vegetable trimmings and bits and pieces left over from cooking can have another job to do.

You just have to know what to do with them.

In this episode:

What stock actually isStock vs. brothWhy we use bonesThe role of vegetables and aromaticsWhy you simmer instead of boilWhat skimming doesHow long to cook your stockWhen to strain itHow to cool and store it safelyUsing kitchen scraps to make stockHow stock is used in soups, sauces and other dishes

Chef’s Shortcut:

Don’t throw away something just because you’re finished with it.

Bones and vegetable trimmings can still have plenty of flavour left in them.