Recipe(tried): Stock

Don-

Occasionally, I'll prepare a recipe that calls for boiling a meat ingredient. For example, I'll pre/par-boil pork ribs, to make spare ribs; or beef or chicken parts to make a stew; etc.

Whenever I do this, I save the liquid, chill it, and skim off the layer of fat that rises to the top and congeals. I then warm it, and pour it through a strainer, to get rid of any small particles of food that are floating around (strained stock is often referred to as "broth," I believe). Sometimes, I then boil the strained stock to "reduce" it maybe by half (boiling throws off water, and leaves a stronger concentrate). The result is good stock/broth. I then take the stock/broth and freeze it in an ice-cube tray for future use.

FWIW, I have personally concluded that pork stock works pretty darn good in any recipe that calls for either beef or chicken stock.

(Purists will tell you to boil bones and meat scraps, along with vegetables (onion, celery, carrots), and seasonings (garlic, bay leave, thyme, salt & pepper, etc.) to create a stock. I find that what I do is just fine, and seasonings can be added later, depending on which recipe you are using the stock in.)

Although what I described to you may sound complicated and laborious, it really isn't. After all, it's just saving and recycling the liquid that remains behind after cooking ribs, etc. I, perhaps like you, am a bit of a novice at cooking, so, believe me, if I can do it without finding it to be burdensome, so can you!

Hope this helps.

-Martin