By Larry Levine –
The secret to freedom when confronting a restaurant menu lies in how well you manage your overall diet when eating at home.
I make a game of mental credits out of it: if I’m going out to a restaurant tonight I need to hold the fat, cholesterol and sodium to a minimum the rest of the day and the next day. If my restaurant transgression is too great, I must watch what I prepare at home for the several days surrounding the restaurant meal.
It works out easier if one just makes it a policy to not mess around with what you eat at home. And the most important tip I have found regarding home cooking has to do with a good supply of homemade stocks.
I have an entire freezer devoted to chicken, fish, beef, lamb, and vegetable stocks. I freeze them in one cup and two cup portions for flexibility. In addition, when I am preparing a meal that includes shrimp, I make a broth from the shrimp shells and use it to enhance the flavor of the dish.
No store-bought stock – not even those sold as low sodium – can match what you can do in your own kitchen. And in the delicate game of credits and rewards, any extra sodium, or fat ingested from a can, jar, or carton will count against the rewards you can grant yourself elsewhere in your diet.
RULE NUMBER 1 – The best beef, lamb, or poultry stock starts with roasted bones. If I roast a turkey I break the carcass into quarters and save that along with the back, the wings and the bones from the legs and thighs. Bones leftover from a roasted chicken don’t work as well because they usually are served on someone’s plate. Lacking leftover turkey bones, I’ll buy a hefty amount of chicken backs and necks and a couple of legs and thighs. I’ll roast them and freeze them until I’m ready to make a stock.
The leftover bone from a leg of lamb is excellent for a lamb stock. Lamb chop bones don’t work because, as with the chicken bones, they usually are served on someone’s plate.
If you buy beef, lamb, or poultry bones specifically for making stocks roast them at 325 degrees for about one hour before putting them in the stock pot. If you have the time and the inclination, you can roast the bones at 150 degrees for as much as 24 hours the way they do in some really great restaurants. .
As for fish, or vegetable stock see the recipes below.
RULE NUMBER 2 – Do not add salt to the pot while making the stock. If you are going to use salt at all it should be added later, when you are using the stock as the base for the final dish you are preparing.
RULE NUMBER 3 – Once the stock is finished, let it sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours so the fat that congeals on the top and can easily be removed. This does not include the shrimp or vegetable stocks.
With these stocks on hand, you have the flexibility to get some extra flavor in steamed rice, turn out a great quick-and-dirty curry, put some wonderful last-minute soups on the table, or work all sorts of other low-fat, low-sodium magic. So, instead of those sodium-laden frozen dinner that might now fill your freezer, devote that space to storing homemade stocks.
POULTRY STOCK
About 2 pounds of turkey or chicken bones, or a mixture of both
2 large carrots, scrubbed and cut into large diagonal pieces
2 medium parsnips, scrubbed and cut into large diagonal pieces
2 stalks of celery – leafs included, cut into large diagonal pieces (extra leafs are a good idea)
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
2 laurel or Mediterranean bay leafs
1 tablespoon whole black pepper corns
5 quarts of cold water
Put all of the above into a large stock pot. Bring it to a boil. Skim off any foam that forms on the top. Turn the light down to a very slow boil and maintain it for at least 2 hours. Strain the liquid into a separate pot or bowl. Discard the solids. Let the liquid cool in the refrigerator for 24 to 36 hours. Skim off the fat. Freeze as suggested above.
BEEF STOCK
About 3 pounds of beef bones – leftovers as described above, or roasted neck or soup bones you can buy in most markets; try to include at least one marrow bone.
3 carrots, scrubbed and cut into large diagonal pieces
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
3 stalks of celery, including leafs, cut into diagonal pieces (extra leaves are a good idea)
2 laurel or Mediterranean bay leafs
1 turnip, scrubbed and cut into eighths
1 tablespoon whole black pepper corns
5 quarts of cold water
Put all of the above into a large stock pot. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that forms on the top. Turn the light down to a very slow boil and maintain for 3 hours. Strain the liquid into a separate pot or bowl. Discard the solids. Let the liquid cool in the refrigerator for 24 to 36 hours. Skim off the fat. Freeze as suggested above.
LAMB STOCK
About 3 pounds of lamb bones – leftovers as described above, or bones purchased at your meat market for this purpose
3 carrots, scrubbed and cut into large diagonal pieces
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
3 stalks of celery, including leafs, cut into diagonal pieces (extra leafs are a good idea)
3 laurel or Mediterranean bay leafs
1 tablespoon whole black pepper corns
5 quarts of cold water
Put all of the above into a large stock pot. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that forms on the top. Turn the light down to a very slow boil and maintain for 3 hours. Strain the liquid into a separate pot or bowl. Discard the solids. Let the liquid cool in the refrigerator for 24 to 36 hours. Skim off the fat. Freeze as suggested above.
SHRIMP STOCK
Purchase as much raw shrimp with the shells on as you will need for a meal
Peel the shrimp and reserve the shells
Put the shrimp shells in a sauce pan with enough cold water to not quite cover them. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer slowly for about 30 minutes. Strain the liquid into another pot or bowl. Discard the shells. It’s best to use this stock soon after you make it. You can freeze it for up to a month.
FISH STOCK
About 3 pounds of fish bones, heads and skins (carp, white fish, red snapper, halibut, sea bass, or any other fish commonly found in your local market)
1 large onion, quartered
1 leek, white part only, chopped and washed thoroughly
2 stalks of celery, with leafs, cut into diagonal pieces
2 large carrots, scrubbed and cut into large diagonal pieces
2 bay leafs
2 tablespoons dried cilantro
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon whole white pepper corns
3 quarts of cold water, or enough to cover all ingredients in a stock pot
DO NOT ROAST THESE BONES AND FISH PARTS BEFORE USING IN THE STOCK POT.
Put all of the above in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil. Skim off the foam that forms on top. Reduce heat to a very slow boil – just above a simmer. Let simmer for 90 minutes. Strain the liquid into another pot or bowl. Let cool. Freeze as suggested above.
VEGETABLE STOCK
2 pounds bok choy, rinsed and chopped coarsely
2 pounds of leeks, washed and chopped coarsely
2 pounds of carrots, scrubbed, cut into diagonal chunks, tossed in olive oil and roasted at 425 degrees for 10 minutes
1 large onion, peeled, quartered, tossed in olive oil and roasted at 425 degrees for 20 minutes
4 thin slices of peeled, fresh ginger root
4 bay leafs
6 sprigs of fresh cilantro
6 sprigs of fresh parsley
1 tablespoon of whole black peppers
3 quarts of water
Put all ingredients into a stock pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a very slow boil and simmer for 2 hours. You can be inventive and substitute or add whatever fresh herbs that suit your taste. Let cool and freeze as suggested above.
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