Stock making tip...?

[Guest guest]

Hey all. I can't find my copy of NT to confirm this right now, but it has

occurred to me as I make stock that I do something in that process that

might be useful to you all, that I don't think came from anywhere but my

own brain, so I thought I'd share. Basically, when I make stock, after

straining the whole pot for the big volume of stock, I then sort the bones

from the squishier & vegetable bits & put all of this squishy vegetably

stuff into a jelly bag. I then wring out these " squeezin's " by hand until

it is only a hard mass of vegetable pulp & all the liquid I have the

patience to get is collected. I tend to get anywhere from a pint to a

quart of additional stock per crock pot from doing this. This particular

pint/quart is a little cloudier and has a stronger veggie flavor but it is

definitely good stock. It also generally has a good layer of fat on top

rescued from coating the spent veggies. Then I feed the bones to my dog &

basically the only waste from the whole pot is about a baseball sized lump

of dense vegetable matter, & I have more stock to show for it. It's

important to make sure the squeezins aren't too hot or you'll burn your

hand, but they do strain best when warm. Also, it isn't even necessary to

sort the bones if you're doing chicken stock, but it'll be easier on your

hands & you'll get more stock out without the extra hard bits in the way.

Hope that is of help & not redundant! Happy new year!

--

to live in this world, you must be able to do three things:

to love what is mortal;

to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it;

and, when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go.

[Guest guest]

Great tip! I'll have to say though that, for me, straining the stock is the

least favorite part of making it!

Kathy

[Guest guest]

, thanks for the " stock tip " ! Ha ha. And I'm with you, Kathy, straining is

my least favorite aspect, although I've tried to take a more zen-like,

meditative approach lately and that seems to help. I have one question: what's

a jelly bag? Sounds like something I should have!

Okay, I have one more question. I occasionally nibble on the softer chicken or

turkey bone pieces and share a little bit of the bones with my cat (along with

the squishy knuckly bits) but, not having a dog, I usually toss out most of the

spent bones. Is it recommended to use the soft bones for cats, in which case

could I freeze it in little bits? Thoughts?

Beth