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Stocks

When I used to teach cooking classes and people asked if it was OK to substitute canned or boxed broth for homemade, I always said sure. Then I tasted the stuff. Most of it is terrible. It’s so bad, in fact, that I’d prefer you use water instead.

I don’t make a lot of intense reduction sauces; I find them gluey and feel that they mask the flavor of the dish rather than enhance it. I also tend to use pickles and acidic garnishes where others might use a rich stock. Nevertheless, stocks are the backbone of many soups, braises, and sauces. They’re critical to so much of what we do at Lola and Lolita.

Stocks cook for a long time but they don’t require a lot of work, and they freeze well. Allow stock to cool uncovered in your refrigerator after you strain it. Remove any fat that congeals on top. Cover and store for a week in your refrigerator or freeze in 2-cup portions for up to a month in your freezer. I use chicken stock for most of my cooking, whether making a quick sauce, cooking risotto, or braising pork belly.

You’ll notice I use a lot of feet in my chicken stock because they’re so rich in collagen, which melts into gelatin and gives the stock great body. This is a light white stock; for a richer, brown stock you can first roast the bones until golden brown, discard the fat, and follow the same method. The shellfish stock couldn’t be more basic and really elevates all seafood dishes.

Finally, remember that if you’re making a sauce calls for stock and cooks for a long time (Yia Yia’s Sunday Sauce, for instance), but you don’t have fresh stock, a good trick is to add some water and bones to the long-simmering dish instead. Beef bones, veal bones, or even chicken bones can be added (though you’ll want to remove them from the sauce, so you wouldn’t want to add a lot of small chicken bones). Bones will provide much of the depth of flavor that adding fresh stock would have. Discard the bones before serving the dish.

CHICKEN STOCK

Makes about 3 quarts

2 pounds chicken backs and necks

2 pounds chicken feet, or additional backs and necks

1 onion, quartered

1 carrot, thickly sliced

1 head of garlic, halved crosswise

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

Rinse the chicken parts thoroughly. In a 10-quart stockpot, combine the onion, carrot, garlic, thyme, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns, and 1 gallon cold water. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, skimming any foam and impurities that rise to the surface. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 hours, skimming the surface as necessary. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding the solids.

SHELLFISH STOCK

Makes about 1 quart

Shells from 1 pound shrimp

1 onion, quartered

12-inch knob of peeled fresh ginger, sliced

1 carrot, thickly sliced

1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted (see Symon Says)

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon kosher salt

Combine the shrimp shells, onion, ginger, carrot, coriander seeds, bay leaf, salt, and 2 quarts cold water in a pot. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, skimming away any impurities that rise to the surface. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, continuing to skim impurities as necessary. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding the solids.

SPICY KETCHUP

Heinz is tough to beat, but I like a ketchup with a little zing to it. This ketchup gets its kick from crushed red pepper and fresno chilies, and its depth of flavor from garlic, cumin, and cinnamon. It’s a very versatile sauce, great on sandwiches or as a dipping sauce for fries; some people even order it at the restaurant to dip their steak in. And it’s a great base for the Coffee Barbecue Sauce.

Makes 3 to 4 cups

1 small yellow onion, minced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

Kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 fresno chilies, seeded and minced

1 ancho chile, seeded and minced

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 cinnamon stick