Sooo - I made Nonna's Chicken Stock yesterday (my first attempt ever at stock from scratch). It was great fun, and I don't think I'll be buying ready-made stock any more...but it turned out as murky as a conman's resume. I'm fairly sure this is because I turned up the heat, only to medium low on my new inherited gas stove, mind you--and then caught it bubbling a little more vigorously than "simmer". Questions:
1. Can I still use the stuff?
2. Would it help to reduce it?
3. Is just simmering (with barely a bubble) really enough to kill bacteria? This last one makes me very nervous--probably why I just couldn't leave the heat alone the way I should have.
Thanks,
Amy

Murky smurky...it will still be delicious! Yes this was likely due to it boiling a bit, but don't worry about it. The point is that you are making your own stock and that is what counts. The flavor whether it is murky or clear will pretty much be the same.

I am sure it has happened to all of us, I know it has me.

As for simmering and killing any bacteria, don't worry the simmer is enough to do this. The reason you probably couldn't leave it alone is because it is actually quite fascinating to watch and tinker with. As you make stocks, you will become more familiar with the whole process and soon you will be making it with your eyes closed (well at least with no worries).

Hope this helps!

Encouraging words!

Yes, boiling your stock can cause it to be cloudy, as can mixing cooked and raw parts while making the stock. However, unless you are working in a fancy restaurant, or doing catering, I wouldn't worry about it. Cloudy stock tastes just as good as clear stock, your family will probably like it just fine, and it certainly won't hurt them. And, even if you are serving it to people other than your family, you can tell them it is "rustic," and they will like it, as long as it tastes good.

You can clarify stocks by filtering them through multiple layers of cheesecloth, or with egg whites and eggshells, but the chances are that they will not get perfectly clear anyway, and, really, who cares? Only the snobs. I don't care much about impressing them, do you?

I am finding that the best way for me to make flavorful cooking liquid consistantly is to use the broth method where I take a whole chicken (or parts) and simmer it in water along with vegetables and seasoning.(excellent instruction here on Rouxbe) I will do this whenever I need cooked chicken for a recipe and/or when I need chicken stock. The cooked meat is always a good thing to have on hand. (I freeze it if I am not going to use it right away. And I save tons of money not buying small amounts of chicken here and there or expensive canned chicken or buying canned broth. And I don't have to buy bones! Which seem to be on the costly side here in Kitchener. The same I think could be done with a piece of stewing or braising beef with a nice bone. hmmmmm. More experimentation!

I just had a question: when you say a ratio of 3 to 1 bones to mirepoix, or 1 part veggies to 1 part water for a veggie stock, do you mean by weight?

You can weigh the ingredients, but with things like this you can simply eye ball it, as these ratios don't have to be exact. For example, if you want your stock to have a strong chicken flavor, feel free to use a higher ratio of bones to vegetables. Cheers!

Maybe this is a silly question, but what is the purpose of removing the fat from stocks? How does removing the fat affect the flavor of the stock?

Removing the fat gives the stock a cleaner taste and better mouth feel. Some stocks turn out fattier than others, so if it is left behind it will pool on top of sauces and soups, etc., and become heavier than necessary. Also, the presentation won't be so great if there are puddles of fat on top of the food. Cheers!

In the video for the "How to make stock fundamentals" lesson, about how much stock will I get after making a basic white chicken stock as they did in the video? Is this enough for only one recipe or will this last for a little while? I suppose what I am really wondering is whether or not I will need to frequently make stock in order to have a constant supply in my kitchen. Will this be the case?

Stock is something that most cooks make fairly frequently, but it depends on how much you cook with it, and how much you use each time.

I say make the recipe (which will give you a good amount) and then see how it goes from there. Cheers!

Thanks Dawn, I will do so.

Using the carcass of roasted chicken is supposed to create a white or dark stock?

Just to be sure: the mirepoix to bone ratio is in weight or volume?
I realize that I can eyeball it, but I would still like to know if it is volume or weight.

You can definitely use the bones, skin and fat leftover from roasted chicken. We often make a small pot of stock from leftover roasted chicken or freeze the bones until we have a larger quantity saved up and make a larger batch. The bones inside the chicken will obviously not be roasted/caramelized, so you will wind up with a lighter colored stock. Having said that, you could caramelize the mirepoix to add more flavor and color to the liquid - it's basically up to you.

In terms of ratio, you can measure in volume...but eyeballing it is fine. When it comes to certain things, we are trying to get people away from absolutes and exact measurements, as this gives them much more freedom in the kitchen. If you happen to have 1 cup of carrots on hand when you often use 2 cups...it's no big deal. This is where experimenting with mirepoix comes into play. The most important thing is that you are making stock. Cheers!

What exactly is a mirepoix?
Who invented it?
What flavor (specifically) does it give to a dish?
According to book "The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine" by the French Culinary Institute it is a type cut but the exactsize wasn't defined.
According to other websites, that a mirepoix is a recipe.
I'm confused. Please make this clear once and for all.

Both contain same ingredients (thyme, bay leaf & parley)and you even mentioned that bouquet garni is much like a tea bag.
What's the rationale behind this?

Here are two Drill-downs that explain both - What is Mirepoix? and What is Bouquet Garni?.

Sachet d'epices simply means "sack or bag of spices", much like a teabag or like the spices wrapped in cheesecloth in the bouguet garni video. Hope this helps!

I've been procrastinating by reading "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee. In his section on stocks, he states that for a light stock, you first wash the bones, put them in a pot of cold water, bring the water to a boil, remove and rinse the bones, and then continue as in this lesson.

Is this step useful? Or overkill?

Indeed Harold McGee is right, commonly the first step in making a stock or broth is blanch or wash the bones first. We show this step in the lesson on "How to Make Broth Soup" (which is almost identical to making a broth).

I would say that it does not always have to be done but I often do it, especially when I am making beef broth or stock.

Here is a link to the specific topic in the Broth-Based Soup Lesson.

Hope this helps - Cheers!

Am I right in understanding that if you were to roast the bones as with a dark stock, that blanching the bones has no added benefit?

It is not that the it would have no benefit you just wouldn't want to do it; otherwise the bones would be wet and wet bones would steam in the oven rather than roast. Cheers!

Is there a difference between white and light chicken stock?

Technically there is a difference. White is made using white mirepoix, meaning only onions, leeks and celery (no carrot). A light stock may also mean this for some people but it really just means a light colored stock, as in one where the bones were not roasted. I am sure if a recipe calls for a white or a light stock either could be used. Hope this helps - cheers!

I just made a batch of dark chicken stock. It was wonderful, but it did not gel. So there wasn't obviously a lot of gelatin in the bones. Would adding chicken's feet help it to gel more? I heard that they add a lot of this to stock. As do pig's feet?

Don't be too concerned about your stock not being overly gelatinous this time. Sometimes different batches are just a bit less gelatinous than others. Next time you could either use a higher ratio of bones to water or like you said you could add some chicken feet. Cheers!