I'm going to start with soup...

[Wook]

Because I can make a batch of it on one night and eat it all week...

So questions...

How do you make broth? I assume it's more tha just putting everything in the water on boil right? I've got a thing of tomatto soup base, the stuff you get in a box, and it sounds like all I need to do is warm that up so I was considering adding chopped/cut onions and bell pepper and some ground beef. Do you need to cook the ground beef before hand? What kind of spices work in that? Garlic supposedly is the "goes in everything" kind of spice but what else is recommendable?

[Paulypalooza]

Sorry, but I've never used a tomato soup base before so I really don't know what you have in front of you.

[silverwhisper]

****: making a stock is simple. you require meat and/or bones (assuming some kind of meat-based stock) and fill your pot w/ water and let it boil. it will take around 1 hour or so, although others here are better at this sort of thing than me.

like pauly, i don't think i recognize the tomato soup base to which you refer, i'm afraid.

[marmalade]

How do you make broth? I assume it's more tha just putting everything in the water on boil right?If you want to make broth from boullion or soup base, just follow the instructions on the package. This usually involves boiling some water and dissolving the boullion therein. I also have never used tomato soup base, so I don't know how it is supposed to turn out. One thing to keep in mind is that you can make the broth as thin or concentrated as you like by varying the amount of water you add. You don't have to use the recommended amount of water. Just remember that if you use less water it may be very salty, or if you use less water, you may have to add salt.

OTOH, if you want to make your own broth from scratch, it will take a while. Vegetable broth is the quickest and easiest, but not necessarily the cheapest. The easiest way to procede is to pile all your cleaned veggies and seasonings into a big soup pot, cover them with cold water, and bring it all to a boil for 10 minutes or so. Then reduce the heat so it simmers. Come back in 30 minutes to adjust the salt and strain out the overcooked veggies (unless you like mushy carrots, my husband does). Most people use things like leeks &/or onion, carrots, and celery, but you can put anything you like in there.

About leeks: While most people prefer to eat only the white bottoms of leeks, you can use the whole plant for broth. There may be dirt in between the layers. Clean off what you can see on the dark green tops. To clean the bottom end, chop off the bottom centimeter with the roots. Hold onto the dark leafy parts. Slice upwards (lengthwise) through the packed bottom until you are almost to the leafy parts. Make a quarter turn, and slice again, cutting across your initial cut. The leek will then be cut into four longitudinal sections, and the layers can be easily fanned out. Rinse well under the tap.

To get more flavor from the broth veggies, cut them into smaller pieces and saute them in butter or olive oil before adding water.

[Cranky Dog]

What SW said.

Our stock broth is usually chicken based, only occasion is it beef based. But yeah, it's the leftover meat and bones boiled in water.

Our rule of thumb to making our stock is to cover the bones in the pot with water and let it boil until just over half of the water remains. Use a strainer to seperate the broth from the bones in the end and voilà, a soup base (and rice base too). You can seperate the fat by letting it cool in the fridge, but that fat is full of flavor. It's what gives our soup its "eyes".

When we use it in recipes, we use it in 1:1 proportions to replace water.


Cranky Dog
"I have a soup base opinion, international!"

[COTSBOE]

Tomato based broth is a tad on the labor intensive side as compared to traditional meat ones. If I were you, I'd hold off on those until you have a day to waste and a lot of tomatoes at your disposal. There are ways to cheat (canned tomatoes), but it's really not worth it. Most consistencies also require a food processor, so if you don't have one you are very limited.

Start with vegetable, beef, or chicken broth. Or there's always cream based soups.

[Mouser]

May I recommend using a pressure cooker for your soup?

I find that it gets a much richer flavor much sooner (like in an hour) and you don't end up losing so much liquid.

I agree with using bones. I wouldn't use ground beef. "Chuck" or "stew" cuts will make a much richer and mosre satisfying soup. Onions are good. Basil, Oregano, garlic, crushed pepper... also, some kind of thickener. Barley (and perhaps some small amount of barley flour) is excellent.

I would also recommend putting mushrooms and some potatoes.

Not so much with the peppers, though. I find that the skin slides off and creates an unpleasant texture when boiled.

A small can of tomato sauce can darken the soup and improve its look, texture, and taste.

[Hitcher]

If you're gonna use ground beef anyway, brown it first. Otherwise it'll turn gray when you add it to your tomato soup base. And don't forget to drain it before adding it.

Concidering your base, you might not want to use flour but try instead tapioca powder (if you don't have any but you do have quick-cook tapioca, grind it in a blender). Add to some water and stir it well, then add the mix to your soup just before serving. It's also called tapioca starch or tapioca flour. Arrowroot or cornstarch would work well for you too.

Or thicken with cream, it won't be affected by the acids in tomato or salt in your stock. You can also use evaporated milk as a healthier substitute for cream. Both might try to form a thin skin when heating or boiling but not as bad as regular milk.

[Paulypalooza]

If you want to make a broth or stock something everybody here is forgetting is the vegetables. You can't make stock without the aromatics.

Okay here we go. We are going to make chicken stock

What we need
Bones from 1 Chicken (a whole chicken quartered and cleaned will be even better)
2 large onions chopped (no need to dice just a rough chop will do)
3 stalks celery chopped
3 carrots chopped
2 bay leaves
1 head of garlic smashed (break out your war club for this)
salt & pepper to taste

you toss everything into a large pot and fill with enough water to come about a inch above your other ingredients.

simmer DO NOT BOIL for about 2 hours, adding more water if needed to keep your chicken submerged.

when you feel you have gotten all the flavor you can out of your bird remove your chicken and strain out the veggies.

Voila chicken stock.


our next lesson will be on roasting bones for a rich beef stock

[silverwhisper]

mirepoix, gorram it! you need onions! :troutslap:

:D

er...yeah, you definitely need the aromatics, though.

[Paulypalooza]

mirepoix, gorram it! you need onions! :troutslap:

:D

er...yeah, you definitely need the aromatics, though.

second item on the list of ingredients ya trout head right after chicken

[silverwhisper]

gah! i sux...

...but nowhere near as much as YM... :D

[Paulypalooza]

thats why you can't stay away.

Oh and you still owe her $100 from last week.

[silverwhisper]

pfft, that was only worth $5!

[Paulypalooza]

Not her fault your a two pump chump

[silverwhisper]

dude, nice!

[Paulypalooza]

thank you, I've always loved that line

[BattleNymph]

Bah on all these plebian food whores!

Mulligan stew is a great way to use a tomato base. Especially the powdered stock tomato base it sounds like you have.

Follow the directions on creating the soup, then add whatever sounds good, beans, corn, vegetables and a little bit of ground beef.

For spices use salt and pepper and bay leaf if you have it. Sage and thyme go good too. Rosemary is a must.

Cook it until the meat is done and it's all hot and serve with bread. :D

[Paulypalooza]

Bah on all these plebian food whores!

Mulligan stew is a great way to use a tomato base. Especially the powdered stock tomato base it sounds like you have.


Your going to call me a plebe and then use powdered soup base? I think you need to turn that holy-er that though attitude about 180 degrees honey.

[silverwhisper]

i don't think that.

i know it.

[Paulypalooza]

i don't think that.

i know it.

can a brother get a Amen!

[silverwhisper]

amen to that!

[Mouser]

Amen and Halleluyah!!

:D

[BattleNymph]

Your going to call me a plebe and then use powdered soup base? I think you need to turn that holy-er that though attitude about 180 degrees honey.

I'm not going to use powdered soup base. **** is. I'm just going with the starting point of the student, rather than burying him in advice he's not ready for yet. :)

[silverwhisper]

starting well gives a much better likelihood of ending well, BN. :troutslap:

[marmalade]

1) What kind of ground beef did you get? Regular, chuck, round, or sirloin? With anything fattier than sirloin (or more than 10% fat), definitely pour off the fat after browning the meat. There willl be a lot of water too. If you have your broth simmering in another pot, you can transfer the meat to it, and use the fatty pan to saute onions/peppers to soften them up a bit. Add a tablespoon of oil if they stick.

2) You mentioned in another thread that you don't eat meat off the bone. Would this prevent you from making stock/broth from meat with bones?

[Paulypalooza]

starting well gives a much better likelihood of ending well, BN. :troutslap:

Well said Brother silverwhisper

[BattleNymph]

starting well gives a much better likelihood of ending well, BN. :troutslap:

Well, I do like ends..... .:sagrin:

[Mouser]

Well, I do like ends..... .:sagrin:

<bites tongue>

[silverwhisper]

BN: are they split? b/c if so, i think you should consider a new conditioner.

[BattleNymph]

BN: are they split? b/c if so, i think you should consider a new conditioner.

come here for just a second ok......



*nabs SW* :spank: :spank: :spank:

[silverwhisper]

:troutslap:

:D

[marmalade]

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

Don't listen to us, just have at it!

[Paulypalooza]

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

Don't listen to us, just have at it!

I have a funny feeling thats how haggis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haggis) was invented.

[silverwhisper]

and a metric buttload of whiskey!

[Hitcher]

and a metric buttload of whiskey!
Drunken dare or a desperate cook's belief they were so drunk they'd eat anything?

[TinSoldier]

Or just plain starving Scotsmen who would eat anything but the same 'ol same 'ol.

Anyway I love this part of the board! Best. Subforum. Ever.

[Kalzazz]

Ive found that a quick and easy way to create broth is to toss whatever you want to get broth out of int bowl with water and microwave for 4 minutes on high

Out of curiousity, can cooked chicken bones turn into broth? Ive never tried it, but it occurs to me that I wind up with lots of leftover chicken bones in my daily existence I have no good use for

[silverwhisper]

esp if there's still a little meat on 'em.

[Paulypalooza]

Ive found that a quick and easy way to create broth is to toss whatever you want to get broth out of int bowl with water and microwave for 4 minutes on high

Out of curiousity, can cooked chicken bones turn into broth? Ive never tried it, but it occurs to me that I wind up with lots of leftover chicken bones in my daily existence I have no good use for

The broth won't be as potent but yes. You can get around the weakness of the broth if you have a large stock pot by freezing a lot of bones and then making a LARGE batch of broth and then reducing it.

Quick tip: freeze your chicken stock in ice cube trays and then move them to freezer bags for easy use in small batches.

[Mouser]

My brother doesn't throw away the chicken bones after carving up his chicken.

He then freezes them, and when he gets alrge enough batch, he pops em into the pressure cooker with onion and garlic and cooks em soft, then strains the whole thing and uses an egg to make it into consumme.

Then, ice cube trays, freezer bags, and like PJ says...

:D

[Paulypalooza]

isn't that what I just said?

[silverwhisper]

so ****, are you making soup this weekend? if so, what are you making?