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Stock (Describing the general)

In describing the general principles upon which all good cooking depends, it will be seen that we have dwelt at some length on thickening, and have described the proper method of making brown thickening, or brown roux, and white thickening, or white roux. We will next proceed to discuss the proper method of preparing stock, and the two chief stock sauces--viz. white sauce and brown sauce, which require in their composition the white roux and brown roux respectively. It may possibly be thought that a description of the proper method of making stock should have preceded the description of the thickening; bear in mind, however, that in preparing any dinner, the thickening should be made before the stock, and also, that whereas there is but one method to be pursued in making thickening, there are necessarily many different ways of preparing stock. We have purposely, therefore, impressed upon our readers the great importance of making thickening in the way we have described, as upon it will, to a very great extent, depend the whole character of the soups, gravies, sauces, etc., the recipes for which are given in the present work. We will, therefore, presume the cook to have at any rate mastered this part of the subject before we proceed to discuss such an extremely important branch of cookery as stock. Stock is necessarily a branch of the art approached by everyone with the slightest pretension to any knowledge of the subject with a certain amount of preconceived opinion. We would, by way of preface, however, remind our readers that the better the cooks, probably the more willing will they be to admit that they have much to learn. Cooking in its higher branches is a science, and the most scientific cook that ever served up a Parisian banquet could probably learn something new from the ignorant savage who chews strange herbs to help him to digest the meat that his intellect has not sufficiently expanded to enable him to cook.

But we must commence our stock, and as it is obvious that the method of preparing stock for a large hotel and for a family consisting of only two must be widely different, we will first describe how to make stock in large quantities. First, common stock, then the two principal stock sauces, brown and white, the first being used to make the other two. Take of top ribs, or shoulder, or leg of beef, in the proportion of twenty pounds of meat to twenty quarts of cold water. Add whatever bits or scraps of fresh beef, veal, or chicken there may be; salt slightly, and let it gradually come to boiling point. Before it boils skim it carefully, then add another pint of cold water, afterwards removing all the scum as it rises to the surface. Let it simmer gently near the fire, and add (for the quantity stated) four carrots, four leeks, two turnips, one parsnip, a head of celery, and two onions, into one of which stick two cloves. Add a few peppercorns. No other flavouring should be put into the pot. Special care must be taken that it boils very gently, so as to preserve the liquor clear and maintain its flavour. It is a mistake to cook the meat to shreds under the belief that the flavour is improved. From three to four hours suffices to extract all the juices, and leaves the meat in such a condition as to permit of it being employed in the making of several excellent dishes. When the meat is cooked, it must be taken out of the pan at once. The vegetables should also be taken out at the same time, and, as they are far better than those boiled in water, they can be used to great advantage. The beef and vegetables having been removed, the stock must be allowed to stand for a few minutes to permit any deposit to settle. Then remove the scum and pass the stock through a cloth into an earthenware basin, which should be placed in the open air or in some dry place to cool. It is now the stock which forms the basis of consommes and many other preparations. It should be clear and light, and of a yellow colour. It may here be advisable to look, in a general way, at what is done to make ordinary stock. It is simply beef placed with the few vegetables mentioned, and the whole gently simmered for some hours, care, as we have said, being taken to skim at intervals, and to avoid fast boiling. What probably will at once excite the attention of ordinary cooks is the absence of flavouring, but this is the very point we would have them bear in mind. They too often in making stock simply make a highly-seasoned soup. Good stock should not be seasoned, as it may be wanted for a variety of purposes where seasoning would be objectionable. Recollect, soup is made from stock by adding flavouring, etc., to the stock; when, therefore, it is possible, make the stock as simple as possible, and add to it afterwards what is considered necessary, which, of course, will depend upon the nature of the soup or gravy that has to be made. We will now proceed to describe how brown sauce and white sauce are to be made in what we may call wholesale quantities.

Take two large copper stewpans, and see that they are perfectly well tinned. Butter the bottom of each, and cover them with slices of thin lean ham, then add the veal previously saved, placing half in each stewpan, and put in one stewpan the carcases of some wild rabbits, the best part of the meat of the rabbits being reserved for some entrees, and in the other stewpan an old hen or the carcases of some fowls. The stewpan in which the rabbits have been placed in intended for the brown sauce, and the one in which the fowl has been placed for the white sauce. Pour in sufficient of the stock previously made to cover the meat, and place the two stewpans on the fire, of course covered, to boil quickly. We now have to subject the contents of these two stewpans to a process very similar to the brown and white roux--viz. we have to allow one to cook till it turns a bright golden colour, and we have to remove the other from the fire just before it begins to alter in appearance. First, the brown sauce: what is necessary is to allow it to boil away till it becomes a sort of gum, which will gradually turn a beautiful reddish-brown; the great difficulty being for the cook to know when to slacken the heat of the fire. If the stewpan be allowed to remain on the fire too long the glaze (for such is the stock called when boiled down to a gummy consistency) will become burnt, and the flavour of the stock very much destroyed. On the other hand, if the cook does not allow the stewpan to remain on the fire long enough the proper colour will not be obtained, and the result will be that in order to attain that colour recourse will be had to colouring of some kind or another, which should always be avoided if possible. The cook consequently must carefully watch, and as soon as the liquid begins to turn colour must slacken the heat, and allow the glaze to gradually deepen in colour till it has that reddish-brown appearance we have described; then fill up the stewpan with some common stock, and add to it a couple of onions in which a few cloves have been stuck, a carrot, a small piece of mace, some parsley, green onions, a bay-leaf, and a little thyme. Let all this simmer gently, taking care to skim it from time to time. After gently boiling for about two hours, strain the whole through a sieve, and put it by for use, removing every particle of fat when the stock has got cold. The white sauce being treated and added to in exactly a similar manner, with the one exception that the glaze is not allowed to turn colour. Thus, the sauces should be quite clear, though it will often happen that perfect clearness has not been attained; the clearing process we will consequently describe by-and-by. Sauces are, however, seldom required bright and liquid; the brown roux and white roux must consequently be added respectively to the brown sauce and white sauce to render them the requisite thickness. Having added the roux to each in sufficient quantity to obtain the desired consistency, recollect to allow them to boil a sufficient time for the butter contained in the roux to be thrown up, and removed by skimming. Both sauces can then be sent through a tamis or cloth, and put by for use, this last process rendering them smooth and more velvety in appearance.

We may add before going further that one very good method of ascertaining when the glaze is ready for filling up is to stick a knife in it, and give it a twirl; should the glaze adhere to the knife, and be in that state in which it can be rolled up into a ball in the hands without sticking to the fingers, and at the same time be of the desired colour, it shows that it is sufficiently advanced for the stock to be added.

Now, in the preparation of all large dinners where a great variety of dishes have to be prepared, it would be impossible even to commence until a considerable quantity of brown sauce and white sauce are ready made and put by for use.

In French works on cookery this brown sauce we have described is called sauce Espagnole, and the white sauce veloute. Cooks will readily see that in cases where, perhaps, twelve or more different kinds of entrees have to be made, what an enormous saving of time it is to have two such rich sauces ready at hand. Indeed, in all works of cookery it will often be found that directions are given as follows:--"Add a ladleful of brown sauce." It is evident that it would be impossible for the cook to commence to make, and go through the process of making, brown sauce for the sake of one ladleful. We have described how to make ordinary stock, and brown and white gravy, both thick and thin, from raw meat; but it should be borne in mind that in all large establishments, as well as in small private houses, there is much left of cooked meat, bones, carcases of fowls and game, etc., which will materially help to fill up the stock-pot. The bones of large joints, such as sirloin of beef, or haunch of mutton, ought never to be thrown away, but should be added to the raw bones in the stock-pot. Indeed, meat that has been roasted helps greatly to increase the flavour of good stock.

When, therefore, we recommend carcases to be added, such as rabbits, fowls, etc., it is assumed that such carcases have been at any rate partially cooked, and the best part of the meat removed for other purposes. In cases, however, where an old hen or a very old bird, such as a partridge, evidently too tough to be eaten, is added, it is always best to partially roast it before placing it in the stock-pot. An old hen that has been a most serviceable bird in its day, when it ceases to lay eggs is, as a rule, far too tough for any purpose save that of the stock-pot; and old birds like this, that make the best soup, can sometimes be bought as low as 1s. or 1s. 6d. a-piece. In small houses, cooks should endeavour to do on a small scale what we have shown is done in great hotels on a large scale. First, the common stock, made from any bones and pieces of cooked meat left, should be put on with some gravy-beef and, if possible, a knuckle of veal, the best part of the meat of the veal being cut off to use in transforming the common stock into good soup or gravy.

In choosing meat for making stock it will always be found best to pick out the very freshest-killed possible, and bear in mind that meat should never be washed before it is used. In fact, that part of the meat which contains the greatest amount of real flavour is soluble in cold water; consequently, meat that had been washed would never make such good stock as meat that had not. When stock has been made from fresh meat free from fat, and when there has been no great preponderance of bones, if care has been taken--first, that the stock did not boil too furiously; secondly, that the stock was strained off carefully and through a fine cloth--it will generally be found that the stock will be clear enough for all ordinary purposes. Sometimes, however, it will be found that, notwithstanding every precaution, the stock will present a cloudy appearance; or again, sometimes it may be wished that the stock should be not merely clear, but absolutely bright. When such is the case, the best method of clearing stock is as follows:--We will suppose the quantity of stock required to be cleared to be two quarts. Take the whites of two eggs separated from the yolks, and be very careful that no tinge even of yolk be with them. Place these two whites in a basin, breaking up and adding the egg-shells if clean, and add nearly a tumblerful of cold water, and mix it well up till the whole froths on the top, then pour this into the saucepan or vessel in which the stock is, which ought not, however, to be boiling at the time. Mix it all well up, and place the saucepan on the fire to boil. While it gently boils, skim it thoroughly, then stir it all up again, let it stand some little time, and then strain it through a fine cloth, or, better still, a thick flannel jelly-bag. By this means quite cloudy stock can be rendered as bright as sherry, only bear in mind that every particle of fat should first be removed from the stock.

We will now proceed to discuss the best method of making stock without the use of fresh meat at all. It should be borne in mind that in the present day the prices of pro-visions have so much increased, and also show such an upward tendency, that it is very desirable for every family throughout the country to do their utmost to save consumption of meat, thereby doing what little they can towards rendering meat cheaper to others who may not be possessed of so much wealth as themselves. Where the bones of joints that are left are thrown away and given to dogs, and fresh meat bought in quantities for making soup, it is evident that a large amount of nutritive matter is absolutely wasted, which under other management would support the life of many starving persons. We will now take the very common case of a leg of mutton bone being left, and will describe how to turn it into stock, though at the same time we must, of course, admit that the result would not be equal to the stock made from the fresh gravy-beef and veal.

First, take the leg of mutton bone and chop it up into small pieces with a hatchet, and place these bones in cold water in a saucepan, with a good handful of fresh green parsley, a good large onion in which two or three cloves have been stuck, a carrot, or two small carrots, one turnip, if young--but do not put in any during very hot weather, or when they are old and sweet--one head of celery, or, if no celery is in season, a little celery-seed (about one-third of a salt-spoonful, or about enough to cover a threepenny piece), a small pinch of thyme, a little cayenne pepper, and a little salt; also, if they can be obtained, a couple of leeks.

Let all this simmer gently for three or four hours, and then strain it off into a large basin. We are supposing sufficient water to have been added to make the quantity when strained off about two quarts. Then add to this a good tea-spoonful of extract of meat; this will not merely have the effect of making the stock richer and more nutritious, but will also very materially assist the colour, as the leg of mutton bone was not in itself sufficient to enable the cook to boil down the stock to a glaze, and to obtain a colour by that means.

By this method an exceedingly palatable and nice stock is obtained, that can be thickened for gravy with brown thickening, or can have various ingredients added to it, such as young vegetable cut up, macaroni, vermicelli, etc., to transform it into excellent soup.

Good stock, when it is cold, should form a jelly, owing to the presence of the gelatine in the meat or the bones used; indeed, stock made from bones alone will often be found to be a harder jelly than stock made from meat alone, owing to the fact that bones contain a great quantity of gelatine. Now, in making stock, we have referred to extract of meat--one of the most useful of modern inventions--that has not only assisted the cook, but the doctor. Good beef-tea is in reality a very plain stock made from gravy-beef, without the assistance of the few herbs we have named. Beef-tea when cold, if properly made, is, like good stock, a firm jelly.

Of late years, extract of meat has been largely used as a substitute for gravy-beef, as a quick method of making beef-tea where the absence of meat, or lack of time, have rendered its substitution desirable. It is not our province to discuss the respective merits of beef-tea made from meat, and that made from its extract. Medical men, however, are unanimous in their opinion that where the former cannot be obtained, the latter is a most valuable substitute. We will, however, show how stock can be made quickly--say, at a quarter of an hour's notice--without using either gravy-beef or bones. We would first remind our readers that extract of meat when dissolved in water is a thin liquid, and however great the quantity of extract used, the mixture exhibits no symptoms of becoming a jelly. This is simply owing to the absence of gelatine. We will now take the extremely common case of a little stock being required at almost a moment's notice to make a little soup. For instance, an unexpected stranger has arrived, when, unfortunately, the mistress of the house feels conscious that the dinner happens to be what is called a made-up one. Under these circumstances the cook who can improvise an extra dish or two is a valuable one; but as we are speaking at present on the subject of stock, we will confine our directions to the instantaneous manufacture of that necessary basis of all culinary operations. We will suppose the house, or at any rate an adjacent grocer's, to contain some extract of meat and some gelatine. Most houses likewise have at hand a few onions and some parsley. Let the cook proceed as follows:--Take an onion, and having peeled and split it into two, stick two or three cloves in it, and place it in a saucepan of water with a good bunch of parsley, a little salt and cayenne pepper, and a small quantity of gelatine--about a quarter of one of those little packets generally sold by grocers for making jelly--let all this boil till the gelatine is dissolved, and then strain it off into a basin, taking care in straining it to press the onion and parsley so as to squeeze as much as possible the goodness out of them. If any celery-seed happens to have been in the house, a very little may have been added, only care should be taken not to put too much in, as the flavour is exceedingly strong. Having then strained off this liquid, add to it about a tea-spoonful of extract of meat, and stir it all up till the extract is dissolved; after which taste it often, as the addition of extract of meat entails the addition of more salt, and as extract of meat unfortunately varies both in flavour and goodness, it is difficult to give any exact quantities to be used. We now have a very fair stock, which indeed may be sent up as soup just as it is. It is, of course, perfectly pure from grease, and should be, if the gelatine be good, perfectly bright; the stock is, however, by no means equal in flavour to that made from meat, and consequently a good cook would, if possible, take advantage of anything in her possession to impart a little additional flavour. Now, for this purpose, nothing is better than a few fresh tarragon leaves, or, if fresh tarragon leaves cannot be obtained, a very small pinch of dried tarragon can be put in with the parsley, which will have the effect of imparting the flavour; but it should be strained off with the onion, etc., whereas the fresh tarragon may be served up in the soup. Stock thus made can, of course, have vermicelli or anything else added to it should a perfectly plain soup not be wished. There are, however, a number of persons who have the mistaken notion that a thin soup is of necessity poor. If by chance you are aware of their ignorance it is as well to remind the cook to thicken the soup, which can be done, as previously directed, in a very few moments by boiling in it a little arrowroot, mixed up and well stirred in a little cold water. When this is done, be careful not to over-thicken the soup, or the deception becomes too apparent; enough arrowroot should be added to make the soup appear of the consistency of thin prepared gum.

Very often in private houses stock is made from the water in which mutton has been boiled. Now, of course, mutton will not make by any means the same quality of stock that beef or veal will, and consequently stock made from mutton should, when possible, be reserved for certain kinds of soup, such as oyster soup; but we will refer to this subject more fully when we come to speak on soups in general, and will now conclude our remarks on stock with general directions for the removal of fat and grease, which is very often a great difficulty with young and inexperienced cooks. First, cooks should bear in mind that there are different kinds of grease--one hard, the removal of which gives comparatively little trouble; another soft, and held in solution by the stock, which is far more difficult to remove. To illustrate what we mean, we will contrast the stock made, say, from boiling a leg of mutton, and that made by boiling a pig's head. If both are allowed to get cold, the mutton stock will be found to be covered with a coating of fat as hard almost as wax, and the broth underneath will, when this fat has been removed, be entirely free from grease. Not so, however, the other; the pork stock will likewise be found to be covered with fat, not so hard; but when that has been removed the stock itself will still be very greasy. Again, stock made from bones containing gristle and soft fat is often greasy, even after it has got cold; so, too, with the liquor in which bacon or ham has been boiled, though nothing can be better than lean ham to flavour stock. When lean and fat are mixed together, the stock becomes often so saturated with grease as to be almost useless. When, therefore, stock is in this state--viz. that it holds fat in solution--the only method by which the fat can be got rid of is by placing the stock on the fire, and allowing it to simmer gently; while it is simmering the cook should from time to time carefully skim it. The longer this process is continued the freer will the stock be from fat. When butter has been in any way mixed with stock or soup, as in the case of using the brown or white thickening, this is the only method by which it can be got rid of again. In fact, cooks would do well to disabuse their minds of the fallacy that if stock is allowed to get cold the fat hardens on the top, and that consequently if this be removed it is impossible for a particle of fat to remain. Such is not the case, and as one fact is worth fifty arguments we should recommend them to try the simple experiment--when they get a somewhat greasy stock--of letting it get cold, removing all the fat, and then putting on the stock to boil again for, say, an hour. They will find that when the stock gets cold for the second time, there will be almost as much fat on the surface as before. Another important little art in which good cooks ought to excel is the removal of grease from small quantities of stock or gravy without letting it get cold, and without going through that somewhat laborious and wasteful process when only small quantities have to be dealt with--of skimming. Some cooks have a great knack of blowing the grease off stock. Recollect, we do not recommend the custom, but simply refer to it; the stock or gravy is poured out into a small basin, so that the surface of the stock is nearly on a level with the edge of the basin. In a very few minutes the grease will rise to the top, looking like oil floating on the surface. By blowing gently, this oil can be driven to one side of the basin, then tilting the basin and holding it, say, over the sink, by allowing a little to be blown over the edge, in a very short time all the grease can be got rid of with, comparatively speaking, a very small sacrifice of stock. The method is ingenious, and very often resorted to by cooks. The objection is the natural one against blowing, many objecting to it on account of its not being an altogether cleanly custom. A better and perfectly unobjectionable plan is using blotting-paper--or, indeed, any rather rough kind of paper--for the purpose. Of course, if there is any very large quantity of grease floating on the surface the best part of it must be removed by skimming; as long as there is plenty of grease, then skimming is easy enough, but it is when the stock gets down to that state in which it is not covered with large pools of fat, so to speak, as large as the bowl of a spoon, but is dotted over with little round specks of fat ranging in size from a pea to a pin's head. When the stock has got into this state, continuous skimming only wastes it, and very little impression is made on the grease. Now, what is wanted is to remove the surface only. Get, therefore, a piece of white blotting-paper, or even a clean piece of common brown paper, and let this just touch the surface, the grease will adhere to the paper, and by using a few pieces of dry paper one after the other, the whole of the grease can be removed. This method of removing fat will be found to be particularly useful in preparing beef-tea for invalids. Beef-tea is often wanted in a hurry, and there is probably no time to allow it to get cold, yet it is of the greatest importance that every particle of fat be removed, for nothing looks so bad as to see by the bedside of a sick person beef-tea covered with wafers of fat. The cook should consider such a circumstance as a positive disgrace.

One very important point in reference to stock, soups, gravies, etc., is their preservation. Of course, in cold, frosty weather stock will keep for almost any time, but in hot weather stock is very apt to turn sour or high. Suppose you leave some stock in the larder overnight a firm jelly, and the weather, say, is very warm; if in the morning when you come down you find it has altered in appearance, and instead of being a jelly it looks watery in some parts and lumpy in others, you may rest assured that the stock has turned bad. There is, however, one method by which stock can be preserved far longer than it otherwise would be, and that is by being boiled up afresh every day. In winter this is not necessary, but in summer should any stock, soup, or gravy be left, and a day pass without its being wanted, the cook should always put it in a saucepan, boil it up, and then place it in a fresh clean basin, and when cold, or nearly so, put it back in the larder or safe where it is generally kept. I say when it is nearly cold advisedly, for cooks should always avoid putting hot stock or soup in the larder where other things are kept. In the first place, the heat tends to raise the temperature of the larder, and, still worse, the steam that rises from the hot stock has a tendency to make the larder foul, thus probably affecting the flavour of some of the other dishes.

Before leaving the subject of stock there is one more kind to which we would refer, and that is fish stock. Few persons are aware how exceedingly nutritious a stock can be made from fish. For instance, from a turbot. Very often, the water in which a large turbot has been boiled, when it gets cold is firm jelly.

In preparing fish stock as a basis for fish soups of various kinds, it will be found best, if possible, to have half the fish from which the stock is made fresh-water fish and half sea-fish. In preparing the stock the greatest attention should be paid to the skimmings. Fish contains a large quantity of albumen, which, being disengaged, coagulates and rises to the surface, carrying with it many of the little impurities of the fish; this should be skimmed off as it rises. In straining off the stock after the fish has been removed--for in almost every instance of making fish stock the fish is taken out and eaten separately--care should be taken not to empty the fish-kettle down to its dregs. After the stock has been strained off it should be put on again to boil partly away, an onion with three or four cloves in it and a little parsley being added, some salt, of course, having been put in with the fish. The stock should also have added to it an anchovy, pounded thoroughly in some butter; this should be added to the stock and dissolved in it; the anchovy having an extraordinary effect in bringing out the flavour. Should there be any oil, it should be carefully taken off. If cod-fish is part of the fish used for making the stock, the cod's liver should be boiled separately, as that gives off a very large quantity of oil--cod-liver oil, in fact--which would have the effect of rendering the stock exceedingly disagreeable. Recollect, however, that fish stock, especially in hot weather, will not keep.