Page 107 - YC Cooking School

Use water to deglaze the pot

After adding your bones to the vegetable mix, add water and work all the tasty,
caramelised bits back into your stock.
Hold off on the salt
The stock will still need to reduce right down, which intensifies the flavour, so it’s
hard to know how much salt to add to get it just right. It is safest to save the
seasoning till right at the end of the process.
Bring your stock to the boil so that you can skim it
After that, be careful not to let your stock boil, as it will become cloudy and have
a chalky taste. Stocks should simmer away for hours and remain crystal clear.
Skim your stock regularly, every 30–45 minutes

It might sound like a lot of work but it will be completely worth it for the end
result you achieve.
Strain your stock after its first stage of cooking
The meat, bones and vegetables will now have given up all of their flavour and
nutrients.
Improve the flavor of your sauce through reduction
Leave the lid off your pot and allow the liquid to bubble away. Some of the water
will evaporate and you’ll be left with a rich, flavor-filled sauce.

Thicken your sauce
You can do this in a number of ways. If you do it by reduction, the water will
evaporate and the flavours will intensify. Depending on the ingredients that
have been used though, it might get tastier but not thicken. If this is the case, we
suggest using a beurre manie. This is a classical term for equal amounts of soft
butter (not melted) and flour mixed together into a paste. Then whisk small
amounts (a tablespoon at a time) into the cooking sauce. The butter will dissolve
to give the sauce a beautiful sheen, and the flour will thicken the sauce.
Taste and adjust the seasoning
Do this after thickening your sauce if you need to.

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