Homemade Stock and Broth

I've been making homemade stock and broth for years and freezing it for later use. Homemade stock is so easy to make and tastes so much better, plus has less salt than the box or canned type from the grocery store.  I've pretty much used the terms stock and broth interchangeable but they are actually two different things.  I looked up online the difference so here's a little lesson on the difference. 

Stock is made by simmering a combination of animal bones, a mixture of vegetable scraps of onions, carrots, celery and garlic in water.  Stock always involves bones and is cooked anywhere from 2 to 6 hours on the stovetop. Stock is always left unseasoned. Broth is any liquid that has had meat cooked in it.. It is made by simmering meat and celery, onions and carrots in water for a relatively short amount of time, usually under 2 hours, where the meat and vegetables can be eaten or used for dishes such as soup or a casserole. Unlike stock, broth is typically seasoned. They both are used for sauces, gravies, stews and soups.

The general consensus is stock is made with bones and broth is made with meat. Vegetable stock is made with vegetable scraps that are discarded after cooking and broth is the leftover liquid when cooking vegetables. I mostly make stock but I season mine like broth. I've made lamb, beef, chicken, turkey and vegetable stock.  I just keep a gallon size Ziploc baggie in the freezer and add vegetable scraps to it when I'm cutting stuff up from what I've bought at the farmers market and when I have a full bag, I make stock with whatever I have.  I also have kept bones in the freezer, turkey carcass  left over from Thanksgiving, T bone steak bones and lamb bones I got from the farmers market until I had time and enough vegetable scraps to make stock.  I've also just made vegetable stock, especially if I have an abundance of vegetable scraps especially greens from turnips and beets. I put bones and vegetable scraps in my large pot with cold water, bay leaves, a little seasoned salt and pepper or pepper corns, sometimes a little dried herbs or fresh herbs from my garden.  I cook it on the stove top for at least 2 hours, cool then strain out the bones and vegetables and put stock in a crock pitcher or large canning jars to cool completely in the refrigerator.

lamb bones

The next day or a couple of days later, skim off fat on top, stir stock and I put mine in quart freezer bags, double bagged and freeze. It can also be frozen in ice cube trays. The bones and vegetable scraps can also be roasted for richer flavor.  I usually just throw everything in frozen and cook it for several hours until the stock is dark and tasty. Here's the recipe:
Basic Stock Recipe
lamb, beef, chicken or turkey bones
1 onion, quartered or onion scraps
any type of vegetable scraps, such as celery leaves, potato or carrot peelings, turnip, beet greens, cabbage leaves or core
2 or 3 bay leaves
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
4 whole black peppercorns or 1 t. pepper
1 t. seasoned salt
1 to 2 t of any fresh or dried herb such as parsley, sage, basil, rosemary or thyme
cold water


In large stock pot, add bones, vegetable scraps, seasonings and cover with cold water, (start with COLD water to extract the most flavor from the bones and vegetables). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 hours.  Let cool for awhile. Lift out bones with a slotted spoon and remove any meat for another use and discard bones.  Strain the stock through a mesh strainer into a glass pitcher or container and chill in refrigerator, discard vegetables.  Lift off solidified fat and store in refrigerator for a few days or freeze in containers, freezer bags or ice cube trays for up to 6 months.

Enjoy,
Bamah

Baggie of vegetable scraps

before cooking

finished broth