EAL STOCK
This recipe is for a dark veal stock, which is the basis for brown-sauce-related dishes. For a white veal stock you would not roast the bones, and after the stock came to its first boil, you would strain off the water entirely, wash off the meat and bones, and top with fresh water.
Makes IV2 to 2 gallons BOUQUET GARNI
24 whole black peppercorns 12 sprigs parsley
8 sprigs thyme 3 bay leaves
12 basil leaves
10 pounds veal knuckle bones, cut in 6 stalks celery, cleaned and roughly
half by a butcher chopped
Ч2 cup peanut oil 1 pound mushrooms, cleaned and roughly
6 tablespoons (% stick) butter chopped
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil 3 heads garlic, cut in half crosswise
6 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped 4 or 5 tomatoes, cored and cut up
4 onions, peeled and roughly chopped A 750-ml bottle red wine
About 4 gallons water
1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Make the bouquet garni by enclosing all the ingredients in cheesecloth and tying cloth tightly.
2. Scatter the veal bones in a roasting pan and drizzle with the peanut oil. (This helps to brown the bones.) Roast the bones until deep, dark brown. Turn them once during this roasting period. Remove from the oven.
3. Heat a large stock pot (or two, if necessary) and melt the butter and olive oil. Add the carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms, garlic, and tomatoes and cook until the vegetables are shiny and glazed, about 15 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and red wine and reduce by half.
4. Add the bones and cover completely with cold water. Bring just to a boil. Skim and reduce heat.
1. 5. Simmer until the stock has a rich, meaty aroma and flavor. This will take 12 hours, at least. Strain, discard bones and vegetables, and chill.
ISH STOCK
Where there's fish, there are bones. You can make use of them by making stock, which is really quite simple yet the secret success formula for many soups and sauces. Since I live in Key West, I use local fish like grouper and snapper for stock. The basic rule is to use a nonoily variety offish-your fishmonger can help you choose. It is of utmost importance that the fish frames and heads be fresh. I like to buy whole fish, so I can inspect the eyes for clarity and the gills for a rich, red color and smooth, even shape. (If the gills are dull and shaggy, the fish is past its prime.) Then the fillets can be cut off and the stock made with the head and frame.
Fish stock is unlike other stocks in that it is cooked for a relatively short period of time (longer cooking can cause it to become bitter). Thus, you can buy fish, make the stock, and serve it all relatively quickly. It is important to strain fish stock carefully and to chill it completely. Once it has settled, always ladle off the stock you want; a cloudy, disagreeable sediment forms on the bottom of the pot, and if you stir the stock or pour it, you will break up that sediment and send it into the clean stock above. When you get to the bottom of the pot and see the sediment, stop ladling and discard it.
Makes approximately 2Уг gallons