Broth is one of the basic ingredients of many dishes and therefore it is essential to know how to prepare different types well. They are very inexpensive to make and add and enhance the flavor of many foods. Plus, they can be frozen and used when needed! If you take into account the flavor and cost of liquid or cubed broth on the market, there is no comparison with the homemade one, which is certainly healthier, tastier and cheaper.
Ingrediants
- For the chicken broth: 350 g of raw chicken carcass, or 250 g of chicken pieces with bones (wings, neck, etc….), A golden onion, a stalk of celery without leaves, 1 small carrot, 1 bunch of herbs.
- For the beef broth: 1 kg of beef bones, about 250 g of beef (neck or shank, not offal) not ground. Any part of the animal with the bone is fine anyway. 1 golden onion, 1 celery stalk without leaves, 1 small carrot and 1 bunch of herbs.
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For the vegetable broth:
: 1 onion, 1 celery stalk without leaves, 1 small carrot, 1 leek (only the white part) and 1 bunch of herbs. Any other type of vegetable with little starch is recommended.
- For the fish broth: 1 fish bone (such as cod, plaice, shrimp or lobster tails and shells) with head, tail and backbone. 1 onion, a stalk of celery without leaves, 1 leek (only the white part), a bunch of herbs.
- Bones and other cuts of meat or fish suitable for making broth can be found cheaply at butchers and fishmongers. These animal parts are usually thrown away, so ask ahead.
- To make broth with a stronger, richer flavor, add about 10% of the water plus bones or vegetables (depending on the recipe).
- The skin of golden onions or turnips are great natural dyes to add to your broth.
- Shellfish broth can be made in the same way as fish broth, using leftover shrimp crust, crab, clam, or any other crustacean or mollusk. Perfect as a base for fish soups, creamy fish soups (bisques), gumbo soups or Jambalaya.
Steps
Step 1. For the chicken stock, heat a little oil or butter to medium heat and add the chicken piece
Brown it completely and break it up with a wooden spoon. The more you brown it, the more golden the broth will be. Alternatively, you can roast it and add it to the pot.
- Note: Roast bone leftovers can be used if you want to save money and if you intend to use the broth the day after preparation. Add the leftover roast meat after cooking.
- When using leftover roasted chicken, don't forget about the other flavors and aromas added to roast it (such as sage, onion, garlic, lemon, spices…) and how much these aromas will affect the flavor of the broth.
Step 2. Add the vegetables and herbs
Add about 1 liter of water to the pot, until the vegetables are completely covered. Stir slowly for about half an hour to an hour at the most. If you want a nice clear broth, cook the ingredients at 80 degrees C.
The pressure cooker is a great tool for making broth quickly. Low-heat cooking is fine though and will allow you to do other things while the ingredients cook.
If you want, you can also add 100 ml of white wine, 3 small mushrooms cut in half or a tomato cut into 4 parts.
Step 3. Drain the broth with a thin sieve or cheesecloth
The broth is ready to be used. You can keep it in the fridge in a jar with a lid or you can freeze it in convenient bags or single-dose containers. Alternatively, drain it and let it settle and then use the broth for consommé (see tips).
Step 4. For a rich beef broth, mix the bones and meat with melted butter in a pan
Move the pan to the preheated medium-temperature oven and roast until the meat and the rest are golden brown.
Step 5. Turn the bones and other remnants of meat into a broth pot and dilute the saucepan with a glass of water
Scratch the pan with a wooden spoon to add flavor to the water and place it in the broth pot. Add 3 cups of water to the pan to collect all the flavors and aromas. Put everything in the pot.
Step 6. Add the vegetables and the bunch of spices and mix slowly for half an hour to an hour
Drain and serve.
To prepare a broth for sauces, reduce it by 1/3 from the initial volume and use it to enrich sauces and gravies.
To make a basic sauce, boil and reduce the broth by 1/4 of the initial volume until you get a kind of syrup. Also add sauteed spices or mushrooms, scallions, mustard, pepper, red wine, peppercorns, or stir-fried garlic and ginger.
Step 7. For a light beef broth, follow the same procedure
For a light broth, add the raw meat in the pot with cold water and vegetables.
Beef broth has a mild taste and is perfect for light soups
Step 8. For the vegetable broth, add a little oil to the pot and lightly sauté the vegetables
Or, cut them into large pieces and roast them. Add the water and the bunch of herbs and cook slowly for at least half an hour.
You can also add chicken broth, 100ml white wine, 3 halved mushrooms or a 4-part tomato
Step 9. In a broth pot, add some oil and fish scraps
Simmer and add water, vegetables and herbs.
Continue to cook for no more than 20 minutes.
You can add 50 ml of white wine to the fish broth. This type of broth has a short cooking time as if kept for too long on the fire, it becomes bitter and gray
Advice
- Starchy vegetables such as potatoes are not suitable for broth as they make it cloudy or gray, covering up the flavor.
- Instead of buying vegetables specifically for the broth, keep some leftovers in the freezer. Chunks of bell pepper, carrot peel, spinach stalks, lettuce hearts or cabbage will make your broth richer.
- Avoid celery leaves as they make the broth bitter. The same goes for the salt and pepper which are added to the final dish.
- The ingredients used should be discarded because their flavor has dissolved in the broth.
- For consommé-type soups, deposit the ingredients on the bottom of the pan and use a ladle to collect the liquid on the surface.
- If you plan to use the broth for a long time and in small quantities, freeze it in small packages or sachets to make ice cubes. Once frozen, remove them from the containers and wrap or put them in an envelope. Make sure you store them in a freezer place where they don't absorb any other flavors or odors.
- Keep the temperature of the broth pot very low so that the ingredients blend without making the broth opaque.
- The broth can be divided into portions and frozen.
