Culinary School of Fort Worth - Week 2 - Mise en Place and Stocks

Another fun day at the Culinary School in Fort Worth...

What is mise en place, you ask? It's French for, "everything in it's place." It's a routine of getting everything ready before you start your tasks. Ultra-organizing your kitchen workspace, preparing all the ingredients, gathering your necessary tools, readying your oven or stove; just about anything that will make the process of preparing a dish easy and efficient. A good lesson to be reminded of, not just in the kitchen but in every aspect of our lives.

Today we learned all about stocks. Amazing. You know that little box or can you grab when you want to cook a soup or make a flavorful rice dish? Well, that's not really stock. It'll do in a hurry, (which is most of the time), but if you've got a free afternoon and you're just folding laundry, make your own stock. I promise it'll be better than that boxed stuff any day!

There are two kinds of stock. (No, not chicken or beef.) White Stock, made with raw, uncooked bones and vegetables and Brown Stock, made with roasted bones and roasted or sauteed vegetables. Most stocks use a mix of vegetables called mire poix, which is a mixture of 50% chopped onions, 25% chopped celery and 25% chopped carrot. Also a bouquet garni is tossed in. Classically, it is a little package of thyme, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorn, wrapped in cheesecloth (or a coffee filter) and left in the stock to impart its flavor.

Here's how to make the perfect stock. First, place either cooked or raw bones in the bottom of a large stock pot. Cover with about 1 1/2 gallons of cold water. Bring to a simmer. (Not a rolling boil, then a simmer, just a simmer.) As the water simmers, skim all the 'crud' off the top. Continue doing this until there is no more 'crud' gathering at the top. (Approximatley an hour.) You want to make sure your stock is just at a simmer instead of a rolling boil because you want to keep the stock as clear as possible. A seasoned chef is never satisfied with anything but the clearest of stocks. A simmer insures that all the 'crud' in and around the bones that didn't rise to the top, stays undisturbed. When you can't skim off any more 'crud', add your fresh or roasted mire poix and bouquet garni. Then, simmer, simmer, simmer. You know how it goes; the longer the better. Ideally, a few hours later, take your stock off the stove, carefully remove the bones and vegetables. Carefully strain your stock into a large container. You may want to strain it twice. Place your carefully strained stock in the sink, surrounded by ice. Fill up the sink with ice and let it cool. When the stock is cool. Refrigerate.

Notice there was no salt added. This is on purpose. Let's suppose you season your stock perfectly. The next day you need demi-glace, which is stock reduced by half. If we had seasoned our stock, it would be over-salted when reduced. Reducing simply concentrates the flavors that already exist. Note to self; only salt the end product of whatever you're adding stock to. It'll be perfect.

White stock - simmering.

Brown stock - large roasted veal bones coming to a simmer.


Sauteing the mire poix to add to the Brown Stock

Straining the finished stock.

Our finished stocks cooling in the sink.

This was the delicious lunch they prepared for us. Gumbo and a savory cheesey pastry thing.
I wish I knew the name of it. It was all delicious.

BONUS: Clarified Butter

What is clarified butter and what is it used for? Clarified butter is butter that is slowly melted, thereby evaporating most of the water and separating the foam of milk solids on top from the yummy golden liquid that lies underneath. Because the milk solids have been removed, clarified butter has a higher smoke point and can take higher temperatures than regular butter. (It's won't burn near as fast as regular butter.)

Clarified butter and the milk solid foam that has been removed.

We tasted the milk solid foam. It tastes very much like warm sour cream. Sour? Yes, sour. (Funny, since it came from melted butter which is not sour at all.) Our instructor is experimenting with what to do with the milk solids. She added powdered sugar to it and whipped it. It tasted very close to cream cheese frosting. Yummy!

Our finished clarified butter.


ANOTHER BONUS: French Fries

While waiting for our stocks, we practiced our knife skills. I thought I'd share how much of a potato gets put aside (well, trashed) to make the perfect batonet (Bat-0-nay) sliced potatoes.

A whole Idaho Russet
(There's not a better potato on the planet!)

A perfect batoneted potato. 1/4" x 1/4" x 2".
Everything underneath my knife is 'trash'.

Now close your eyes and picture the most beautiful, crisp, tender and perfectly salted French fries that you've ever tasted. Yep. That's what we made! I wish you could have had some! All I needed was Arctic Circle's Fry Sauce.

Next week: Major Cooking Techniques