Question for Chef ECH

[LMNO]

If I'm making chicken stock, and I happen to have a few lamb, beef or pork bones lying around, is it a good idea to toss them into the stockpot with the chicken bones?

[East Coast Hustle]

I'd leave the lamb and the beef out of it, though they'd make a fine stock on their own if you have enough. Lamb is a pretty dominant flavor and will likely overpower the chicken or pork. The pork, however, would go just fine with the chicken and will give you a stock that's a little more versatile and has a really nice depth of flavor to it.

And don't forget the mirepoix!

[LMNO]

Lawsy, I would NEVAH forget th' mirepoix!

[East Coast Hustle]

One thing I've been doing lately when I make stock is instead of just rough chopping the onions and tossing them in or sauteeing them in the pan a bit, I've been just cutting them in half, leaving the skins on, and pan-roasting them cut sides down until the cut surface is almost burnt before skinning them and tossing them in the stockpot. I'm too much the "Rain Man of Cooking" to explain scientifically why it makes such a difference to the flavor, but it really does.

[LMNO]

I'm guessing you're carmelizing the sugars in the onion.  I can completely see how that would deepen the flavor.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

I've roasted garlic for stock, never thought of doing anything with my veggies. 

I can see my veggie stock having new depths in flavor with roasting the veggies before..... 

Nice tip, thanks ECH!!

[East Coast Hustle]

I'm guessing you're carmelizing the sugars in the onion.  I can completely see how that would deepen the flavor.

yeah, but I always browned them in the pan before anyway. This is adding another layer of depth in addition to the carmelization.

[Triple Zero]

my guesses:

cause you do it until it's almost burnt, so it's more caramelized and somewhat charred?

And possibly the same reason why, if you put a few quartered onions next to a oven roast meat, they'll also be sweeter than if you'd chopped them much finer. Not quite caramelizing, but also how they just turn soft and sweet.

Then, I can imagine, if you chop and saute the onions, maybe a bunch of the flavours disappear in the air, while if you half them and keep the skin on and roast the cut side, whatever would normally go up in the air now has nowhere else to go except for into the rest of the onion. So, not chopping -> much less surface area -> less opportunity for volatile flavours to escape.

Just guessing, but definitely going to try it. Halving is easier than chopping too :P

[East Coast Hustle]

That hypothesis makes total sense to me. Good call, Trip.

[Triple Zero]

One thing I've been doing lately when I make stock is instead of just rough chopping the onions and tossing them in or sauteeing them in the pan a bit, I've been just cutting them in half, leaving the skins on, and pan-roasting them cut sides down until the cut surface is almost burnt before skinning them and tossing them in the stockpot. I'm too much the "Rain Man of Cooking" to explain scientifically why it makes such a difference to the flavor, but it really does.

BTW I tried this today:

I found it's better to cut them in half the "wrong" way, so from the tip to the roots, as opposed to how you'd usually do it when chopping them. That way when they're done, you can pick them up with <utensil>¹, and chop off the ends easier, burnt side on the cutting board.

I probably should have roasted them slower.

It smells fucking delicious. Very different smell. Reminds me a lot of a popular Dutch snack, the "berehap" (bear snack), which is a big (cooked) meatball and an onion of roughly the same size, both cut in slices, interleaved on a thin wooden stick / long toothpick. Then deep fried. Preferably drowned in a fuckload of peanut sauce.

Now I want one. Getting deep-fried takeout, brb.



¹ This:

wtf is this called?? it's only, like, the third most useful utensil in the kitchen, or anything, and I can't even find it on wikipedia. (knife and wooden spoon being the first two, IMO)

[Jenne]

TONGS  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongs

[Triple Zero]

Thank you! So I did have the right idea for that word except I had a letter too many and kept getting pics of underwear ...

[Jenne]

 

OSHI...TRIP! 

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

I like to leave the skins on my onions. It adds.... something.

[Triple Zero]

IT WORKED REALLY WELL

next time I'm going to try and make sure it simmers really slowly, because I heard too much boiling causes clouding, and what I got kinda looks like a yellow-gray dishwater. But it is delicious

yesterday I made pumpkin soup from it.

tomorrow I'm going to make MOAR pumpkin soup cause there'll be guests over. I hope not too many or else I might still have to add a bouillon cube to make enough.