[Sca-cooks] Aha! was Chicken broth

[Gorgeous Muiredach]

At 07:17 PM 12/9/2002, you wrote:
>I think this post has solved something that mystified me...

Huzzah!

>Now, trained chefs please bear with me, here... In Standard American
>Non-professional Home Cook Usage (Can I copyright that phrase? I think
>it will be useful, here) at least as I have encountered it, Brown=Beef
>and White=Chicken. But I am gathering from this conversation that Brown
>vs. White is a matter of technique, rather than ingredients, and that
>you can make either with either. Am I the only person who had missed that?

Dunno if others missed it.  Lemme review :-)  Hope this will help.

You can make white stock or brown stock from any beast you choose.  The
main difference is that you would roast the bones in brown stock, and not
in white stock.  There are a few other subtle differences.

Were I to make a white stock of beef, I would likely put the bones in cold
water, bring to a boil, remove from teh water, trash the water (and scum)
that would come up.  Rinse the bones in cold water.  Then put the bones
back in the pot, add my aromatic elements (celery, onion, parsley, bay
leave, thyme, fresh garlic, carrots [some argue against carrots in white
stock, as it might colour it]).  Add water, spices (black whole pepper,
clove, NO salt [which isnt' technically a spice anyway]).  Bring to a boil,
control the heat, let simmer for a good long while (4, 5 hours, depending
on your bones)

Were I to make a white stock of poultry, I wouldn't bother with the par
cooking of the bones, and would proceed the same way.

Were I to make a brown stock of beef, I'd throw my bones in an oven at
500F, and let them brown until *just* before they are burnt.  With
experience, you get to know when to add the vegetables, which I would also
roast, but not leave in to roast as long as the bones.  I would then throw
bones/vegetables in my pot, with spices and herbs.  I would deglaze the
roasting pan over the fire with water, and get as much of the juices/stuff
that adhered to the roast pan, and pour that in the stock pot, then add
water and spices, *and* some tomato paste, bring to a boil, control the
heat and simmer.

I'd do the same with poultry.

I tend to prefer doing brown stocks with game bones, especially duck.

I tend to bone my quails and prepare a brown stock with the bones to make
my sauces.

Typically brown stocks get thickened with a brown roux, enriched with other
aromatic elements to make a basic all purpose sauce, known as "sauce
espagnole", though most times nowadays a thickened brown stock is used (set
me straight if I'm wrong guys and gals still in the field).  Reduction can
also be used.

While I'm here, I should go into the difference between a "glace de viande"
(glaze), and a "demi glace" (demi-glaze).  A glaze would be reduced brown
stock, with (or without) a bottle of sherry thrown in.  Whereas the demi
glace would be the espagnole, worked on some more and "perfected".  This is
huge generalities.

I didn't say that last paragraph to make Classical French cooking more
rarified, just to explain one of the oft mis perceived concepts.

 > So. I like learning the professional terminology, because it is much
>more precise that anything I am familiar with.

Yes, there is a reason professions develop lingo and terminology, it makes
communication easier once said lingo is learned :-)

Gorgeous Muiredach the Odd
Clan of Odds
Shire of Forth Castle, Meridies
mka
Nicolas Steenhout
"You must deal with me as I think of myself" J. Hockenberry