5 Tips to Make a Great Chicken Stock From Scratch.

From a Personal Chefs Kitchen.

When families have special birthdays in their lives they want to celebrate they need so.ething special to kick the party over the top.

When it comes for the perfect gift for a foodie there’s really only one answer that fits: an evening with a professional Chef.

With 17 years in the industry, you could say I fit the bill.

Personally, I say you no matter how good you are you shouldn’t be working as a Personal Chef until you’ve been cooking at least 10 years in scratch kitchens.

By that time you not only have a solid foundation of flavor and technique, but by that time you also know what to do when tragedy strikes.

Like let’s say the power goes out that was supposed to power your fryers.

Or you are presented with a fireplace burning in the winter are you clever enough to take advantage of the opportunity?

A real Chef is.

However, most people don’t realize that’s what they’re really paying for when they pay me $74 a person on 10 guests.

The money maker:

That’s on their plates,

As it should be.

Development of Flavor

Woah! So many flavors here! You’ve just been here cooking for 4 hours and you did all this?! — basically every satisfied customer ever

One of the best parts of my life as a Chef and the most appreciated aspect of hiring a Chef is our ability to manipulate flavors.

In a restaurant when you come in for dinner everything you ate was hours and hours in the making.

As a Personal Chef my challenge is several fold

1. Work in a new kitchen I’ve never cooked in before which is sure to provide challenges of their own
2. Develop as much flavor in a 4 hour window before they start eating as I possibly can.
3. Provide an experience they can only get through a Personal Chef.

Today I am here to deliver my favorite tips to making a strong stock; the basis of all great cookery.

1. I always roast my chicken bones if time allows. I get a nice browning all around. In most every situation in cooking we want more color both in depth and diversity. Diversity of color promises varying nutrients, but also a wide basis of flavor and a plate you don’t want to eat, but can’t wait until you do.
2. I also roast my veggies. Including garlic. Like I said, color is flavor; get more where you can but remember though bronzing adds a depth a flavor with a touch of richness the moment you burn something it becomes bitter so take care. There is a fine line between burning and carmelizing.
3. If this is going to take hours (I work as a Personal Chef so usually I have to develop as much flavor as I can in 1-3 hours depending on the gig) then I don’t even add the veggies until the last 20-30 minutes. Your veggies add flavor, sure, but if they stay too long they become mush and make your stock…less than ideal. Yes you’re going to strain it out anyways but I assure you, that’s not a problem you care to deal with.
4. I break the bones and carcass up a little. That feeling when you sip a soup like chicken noodle or even Butternut Squash Soup and you get that perfect feeling on your tongue where it’s liquid but it’s just a touch thicker than that and fills you up in a way you can’t get enough of; that’s gelatin and it’s in the bones. The less time you have the more you break up the bones. If you’re going to splinter bones make sure you strain with a fine mesh sieve and cheese cloth you don’t want to accidentally choke people to death. (Do not eat bones people.)
5. I often use water to cover the bones by 2inches. This tends to make a stock FULL of body. I’m usually not making a lot of stock and I want it to absolutely punch my clients in the face with flavor so I highly concentrate the stock bits in the water to ensure its FULL of gelatin and flavor. From there it’s easily enough to add a little water if it’s too strong (not gonna happen)

I dunno where you are but I’m in Minnesota and it’s winter here.

This is the season for warm soups and I’ll be setting this up for myself in just a moment.

I hope this treats you kindly.

If you love food, but need to step away a bit, visit Savorthepassion.com and on of my Chefs would be happy to help.

We’re currently in MN, TX, WI, IL, FL, NY & PA.

I’m Commis Chef Chris Martin. I’ve been in the Culinary industry for 17 years and I love spending my time helping as many people as I can, whether it's through advising on how I dealt with some of my own life challenges, or if it’s through SavorThePassion.com where I’m making ordering a Chef as easy as a pizza.

Thank you very much for your time; it is the most precious resource we have available to us, so thank you. If you're interested in learning more about what I am all about the best way to do it is to visit https://linktr.ee/CommisChefChris

As always,

Follow Your Passion.
No.Matter.What.

~Commis Chef Chris