Ortiz - From the tables of Britain: exploring exciting English cuisine in 250 recipes

E XCELLENT canned chicken and beef stock are available in supermarkets nowadays and there are also acceptable stock cubes for beef, chicken, lamb and fish stocks, useful in a crisis, or to enrich a thin-tasting mixture. Many home cooks still prefer to make their own stock, and British cooks, fond of game, like to make a simple game stock. These recipes are not as formal as those of a restaurant chef who has at his or her disposal not only the ingredients and special equipment but storage space, which most of us lack in small kitchens.

I have used Lyn Halls (principal of La Petite Cuisine School of Cooking in London) excellent recipes for fish stock, and clarified fish stock, which should be used when a strong fish stock is called for. They add wonderfully to the flavor of fish soups.

4 pounds chicken carcasses, raw or cooked, necks, gizzards, hearts, backs and wings

12 cups water

2 carrots, scraped and chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 medium-size onions, unpeeled, halved, each stuck with 2 cloves

1 leek, trimmed, split, thoroughly washed and chopped

Bouquet garni: 1 thyme sprig, 6 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf

6 peppercorns

Salt

Combine all the ingredients, with salt to taste, in a large saucepan or kettle. Bring to a boil over low heat and skim for 5 minutes, to remove any scum that rises to the surface. Cover and simmer over low heat for 2 hours. Strain the liquid into a bowl or jug; discard the solids. Chill the cooled stock in the refrigerator and remove all the fat. The stock can be frozen.

MAKES 8 cups.

4 pounds oxtail, shank or chuck, chopped into 2-inch pieces

2 pounds beef bones

12 cups water

2 medium-size carrots, scraped and chopped

2 medium-size onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 medium-size tomatoes, chopped

3 parsley sprigs

1 bay leaf

6 peppercorns

1 thyme sprig

Salt

Combine all the ingredients, with salt to taste, in a large saucepan or kettle. Bring to a boil over low heat and skim for about 5 minutes. Cover and simmer over low heat for 4 hours, skimming from time to time. Strain the liquid into a bowl or jug; discard the solids. Chill the cooled stock in the refrigerator and remove the solidified fat. The stock can be frozen.

MAKES 8 cups.

Veal Stock

Use 4 pounds veal trimmings (neck or shank) and 1 large veal knuckle bone, cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces, in place of oxtail and beef bones. Cook as for Beef Stock.

Lamb stock is not as much used as other stocks, and when it is needed it is usually for a sauce.

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium-size onion, chopped fine

1 small carrot, scraped and chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 thyme sprig

Lamb bones (from rack of lamb, or loin)

4 cups water

Salt, freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons arrowroot (optional)

Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan and saut the onion, carrot, celery and garlic over moderate heat, stirring from time to time, until the vegetables are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the thyme and bones, stir and cook for a few minutes longer. Add the water, bring to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Strain stock through a fine sieve and return it to the saucepan. If liked, the stock may be thickened. Mix the arrowroot with cold water, stir into the stock, and simmer until the stock is lightly thickened.

MAKES about 2 cups.

The carcasses of roast game make wonderfully rich stock which can be frozen and used to enrich sauces or gravies for the next batch of game.

Carcasses of any game such as pheasant, grouse, partridge, etc., using 2 or 3 birds according to size and type, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium-size onion, chopped

1 medium-size carrot, scraped and chopped

1 celery rib, preferably with leaves, chopped

1 bay leaf

teaspoon dried thyme or 1 sprig of fresh thyme

Salt, freshly ground pepper

4 cups water

Saut the game bones in the butter in a large saucepan or heavy casserole. Add the onion, carrot and celery and saut for a few minutes longer. Add the bay leaf and thyme, season with salt and pepper, and pour in the water. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Taste for seasoning and strain through a fine sieve.

MAKES about 2 cups.

NOTE: Any necks or giblets may be added with the bones, as well as any leftover bits of meat.

3 egg whites for every 8 cups stock

3 eggshells, crushed

4 ounces chopped lean beef (optional)

Stock (beef, veal, chicken, game)

In a large saucepan beat the egg whites until they are foamy. Stir in the crushed eggshells, and the beef if using it. Mix thoroughly. Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer over low heat, whisking constantly. Simmer, partially covered, over very low heat for 20 minutes. Let the stock rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Strain it through a sieve lined with a double thickness of dampened cheesecloth into a bowl or jug, taking care to disturb the crust as little as possible. The crust may be lifted off carefully with a skimmer before straining the stock.

This very good recipe for fish stock is from Lyn Hall, principal of La Petite Cuisine School of Cooking in London.

2 pounds fish heads and bones of any nonoily white fish, cleaned and chopped

cup olive oil

cup chopped tomatoes

cup thin-sliced carrots

1 cup thin-sliced onions

Bouquet garni: 1 thyme sprig, 6 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf

6 cups water

Salt, freshly ground pepper

cup dry white wine

In a large saucepan saut the fish heads and bones in the oil for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, carrots, onions, bouquet garni and water. Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Strain the stock into a jug. Rinse out and dry the saucepan and return the stock to the pan with the wine. Bring to a simmer, skimming the froth from the top. Simmer for 4 minutes, then strain through a sieve lined with a double layer of dampened cheesecloth. Cool. Skim all the fat from the top. Measure and reduce over brisk heat to 4 cups to concentrate the flavor.