CHEF MARS' PICKLING PRIMER

**A RECIPE FOR: CHICKEN STOCK**
QUANT.	UNIT	INGREDIENT	PREPARATION
Also know as "Fond de Volaille" May be white or dark depending if the bones are roasted or not. It is very important that the chicken bones and carcasses are rinsed and blanched well and that they are not spoiled or the stock you produce will be sour. This stock is used in sauces and soups of all kinds, meat, poultry and seafood. The addition of a few veal knuckles or a veal shank or two, cut into pieces, greatly increases this stock's richness. Utilizing stewing chickens or roosters in place of smaller-younger chickens will also increase flavor intensity. For a more golden color add more carrots or use unpeeled white onions.
10	lbs.	chicken bones and trimmings	Rinse and blanch the chicken and veal bones or knuckles. Peel the onion and chop it, the leeks, the carrots and the celery into coarse pieces. Gently crush the garlic clove. Place the bones in a clean stockpot, cover with cold water and bring to a simmer. Like veal, chicken will release a fair amount of scum that rises to the surface so make sure you take great care to carefully remove it and any fat that also surfaces. This is very important for the chicken stock's success. Simmer gently, uncovered for 2 hours. Replenish with cold water if the water level drops below the top/surface level of the bones and continually remove any fat or scum from the surface. Make a bouquet garni by placing the parley, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns and clove in a piece of cheesecloth, then tie with a piece of kitchen twine. After 2 hours of simmering and skimming, add the bouquet garni and the mirepoix of chopped vegetables along with the crushed garlic clove. Continue simmering the stock for no more than 2 additional hours. When the stock is reduced and the flavor is well developed, strain it carefully through a coarse sieve and then a fine one (chinois) or through cheesecloth. Once passed you can reduce the stock separately to your desired consistency and taste or....... Add salt to taste if desired and ........ Cool correctly, identify, label and date, cover and refrigerate.
4	lbs	veal bones or knuckle
12	quarts	water
1	lb	onions
1	lb	cleaned leeks
1/2	lb	cleaned carrots
1/2	lb	cleaned celery
1	clove	garlic
2	sprigs	fresh thyme
6	sprigs	fresh parsley
1	each	bay leaf
1/2	tsp	cracked white peppercorns
1/2	tsp	whole cloves
-	to taste	salt
NOTE: Yield is 2.5 gallons

TIPS:
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Roasted:
follow the roasting bones procedure in the Brown Stock recipe

Rinse and Blanch:
Bones for fish stock should be rinsed under cold running water for 3-5 minutes to remove any impurities and blood.

For brown, chicken, game and white stock stock the bones must be cleaned to remove impurities that will cloud and discolor your stock. Especially in the case of chicken, this cleaning process also helps to kill potentially harmful bacteria. The process we use is called "blanching".

1. Rinse the bones under cold running water for 3-5 minutes.
2. Place rinsed bones in an adequate sized stockpot and cover with cold water.
3. Bring water to a boil.
4. Immediately remove from the heat and strain the bones.
5. Discard the liquid.
6. Rinse bones under cold running water again.

Simmer gently:
the more slowly the stock cooks the clearer the stock will be, even more so in this case, because if you simmer your chicken stock slowly and form no more than 4 hours you should get a clear clear end result.