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A story of stock and trade
So. Saturday. It was a productive day, albeit in a non-academic sort of way (can you tell I'm having a bout of school-related guilt and stress right now?). First, I went to the Home Depot to go make a Happy Skippy Purchase. Upon returning home, I then set about that most fundamental of kitchen activities: making stock.
To make stock, especially in the traditionally large quantities (and if you're making turkey stock, you hardly have the choice of a smaller quantity!), the most essential tool is a very large pot. Observe:
To this pot, you should add the turkey carcass, broken up. And some very roughly chopped carrots, celery, and onion. And some garlic. And some herbs and spices (I used whole peppercorns, bay leaves, and a healthy wollop of bouquet garni and thyme). Oh, and about 2 gallons of cold water:
Then comes the really hard part (this is sarcasm): bring it to a boil, and then simmer for hours (AB says 6-8, and I believe him). Ideally you'll weigh down the ingredients with some sort of perforated item, to keep them submerged. AB suggests a steamer basket; I used the pasta insert from one of my bigger pots. This makes it easier to skim off the scum and foam that forms during cooking (it is not good eats). Once you're (finally) done simmering, remove all the solids and discard -- trust me, they've given all they've got to give. Strain, strain, strain, however you can. If you've got a fine-mesh chinois, that's ideal; a big strainer with cheesecloth is also quite serviceable. If you're me, you have to make do with a teeny-tiny strainer. Then comes the fun part: cooling. You can't just set this is the fridge, not only will it stay in the danger zone too long, it will also bring everything else in the fridge down with it. Instead, a sink of ice water is the best. Surprisingly fast results.
After all that cooling and a night's stay in the fridge, followed by a final defatting, you can then bag the delicious liquid up; I got 10 of these 2-cup bags out of it, plus a couple cups I stole for another dish:
The question, then, is: what do you do with almost 6 quarts of turkey stock? Well, you stick it in your deep freeze:
Yes, my children. This was my Happy Skippy Purchase. See, Kevin and I had been idly flipping through after-Thanksgiving Day sales, and I noticed that the Home Despot [sic] had Magic Chef chest freezers at reduced prices. Now, I've been lusting after a deep freeze for a while now, but the only good prices I could ever find were online, and then shipping ruins any good deal you may find. So this was very exciting. Nevertheless, I still didn't have 150-200 dollars to spend at the drop of a hat. A little voice in the back of my head, however, asked me: what about Christmas? Don't people like to give you gifts? So I called up my parents, who were at my grandparents, and inquired as to whether it would be totally crass to suggest that any potential gift-givers should, in effect, give me cash to pay me back for this purchase, time being of the essence what with the sale and all. They seemed to think it was kosher, so away I went!
Of course, there are pitfalls in any plan. Delivery is always an exciting adventure. The magic freezer was scheduled to be delivered on Monday, and I had requested that the scheduler notate "PM" in her book, since I had class until 11:18. Now, I'm going to show you a picture of the delivered appliance sitting on my lawn. I'd like you to pay special attention to the general quality of the light, and particularly to the timestamp in the lower right:
Of course, this being an old house, we had to be creative with the wiring:
In the end, though, I am victorious, and can now store all manner of things! Stock, sausage, vegetables, meats, ice cream... bodies...
Just for your viewing pleasure, I should let you know there are also some old photos on my Flickr site that I put up simultaneously. Cats, autumn, brisket (from back in August!), my dirty floor, just random stuff. Have at.
To make stock, especially in the traditionally large quantities (and if you're making turkey stock, you hardly have the choice of a smaller quantity!), the most essential tool is a very large pot. Observe:
I am still not certain exactly how this pot came to be in my kitchen, but I'm quite grateful for it; I have no other pot big enough. Twelve quarts, baby.
To this pot, you should add the turkey carcass, broken up. And some very roughly chopped carrots, celery, and onion. And some garlic. And some herbs and spices (I used whole peppercorns, bay leaves, and a healthy wollop of bouquet garni and thyme). Oh, and about 2 gallons of cold water:
Ideally there should be some leek in there, too, but I didn't have any on hand. I threw in some green onions, instead, for a little more of the mild allium flavor.
Then comes the really hard part (this is sarcasm): bring it to a boil, and then simmer for hours (AB says 6-8, and I believe him). Ideally you'll weigh down the ingredients with some sort of perforated item, to keep them submerged. AB suggests a steamer basket; I used the pasta insert from one of my bigger pots. This makes it easier to skim off the scum and foam that forms during cooking (it is not good eats). Once you're (finally) done simmering, remove all the solids and discard -- trust me, they've given all they've got to give. Strain, strain, strain, however you can. If you've got a fine-mesh chinois, that's ideal; a big strainer with cheesecloth is also quite serviceable. If you're me, you have to make do with a teeny-tiny strainer. Then comes the fun part: cooling. You can't just set this is the fridge, not only will it stay in the danger zone too long, it will also bring everything else in the fridge down with it. Instead, a sink of ice water is the best. Surprisingly fast results.
After all that cooling and a night's stay in the fridge, followed by a final defatting, you can then bag the delicious liquid up; I got 10 of these 2-cup bags out of it, plus a couple cups I stole for another dish:
The question, then, is: what do you do with almost 6 quarts of turkey stock? Well, you stick it in your deep freeze:
"Wait a sec!" you say. "Deep freeze?"
Yes, my children. This was my Happy Skippy Purchase. See, Kevin and I had been idly flipping through after-Thanksgiving Day sales, and I noticed that the Home Despot [sic] had Magic Chef chest freezers at reduced prices. Now, I've been lusting after a deep freeze for a while now, but the only good prices I could ever find were online, and then shipping ruins any good deal you may find. So this was very exciting. Nevertheless, I still didn't have 150-200 dollars to spend at the drop of a hat. A little voice in the back of my head, however, asked me: what about Christmas? Don't people like to give you gifts? So I called up my parents, who were at my grandparents, and inquired as to whether it would be totally crass to suggest that any potential gift-givers should, in effect, give me cash to pay me back for this purchase, time being of the essence what with the sale and all. They seemed to think it was kosher, so away I went!
Of course, there are pitfalls in any plan. Delivery is always an exciting adventure. The magic freezer was scheduled to be delivered on Monday, and I had requested that the scheduler notate "PM" in her book, since I had class until 11:18. Now, I'm going to show you a picture of the delivered appliance sitting on my lawn. I'd like you to pay special attention to the general quality of the light, and particularly to the timestamp in the lower right:
The delivery men woke me up 15 minutes before my alarm, at 7:15, to say that they'd be here in 30 minutes. Surprising, but hey, at least I got the box. It was a little difficult to get it down into the basement; there were no less than 5 sharp turns Liz and I had to perform to go through the back door and down the basement stairs, but we made it largely unscathed:
See, just a little damage to the packaging, and who gives a damn about that?
Of course, this being an old house, we had to be creative with the wiring:
Let's see... that's an adapter to turn a light socket into a socket plus 2 polarized outlets, a 3-prong to 2-prong adapter, an appliance extension cord, and then a surge protector that you can't see (so Liz can plug in lights for her workspace, too). If we crash the Columbus power grid, I'll know exactly how.
In the end, though, I am victorious, and can now store all manner of things! Stock, sausage, vegetables, meats, ice cream... bodies...
Just for your viewing pleasure, I should let you know there are also some old photos on my Flickr site that I put up simultaneously. Cats, autumn, brisket (from back in August!), my dirty floor, just random stuff. Have at.
lusting
Whoops. TMI.
Congrats on both the freezer and the stock though. :)
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well done. :-)
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Oh, and southern life is NOT complete with out a deep freezer--duh! So congratulations.
P.S. Its hard to get my mind around the concept of a basement. Hm.