Stocks to Stock

Lesson 3 covered stocks. We each made a chicken stock and a fish fumet to learn the principles of building a good stock. As a group, we made a veal stock (fond brun) and a beef stock (fond blanc) both of which will simmer for over 10 hours. I understand now why people just buy the stuff in the box! Although, it definitely doesn't compare to the real thing. Before we even simmered the veal stock it looked amazing!

To prep for the fumet, I got to use a meat cleaver to hack apart a Halibut carcass. Talk about a great way to releave stress after a long day at the office. I promise next time there will be pictures.

While we simmered our stocks we learned the basics of an emulsified sauce by making a cold emulsion and a warm emulsion. I also learned that furiously whisking an emulsion can really hurt one's arm! I'm also still convinced that Hellman's is OK and homemade mayo really isn't necessary. Although, I can't wait to make salad dressing!

Hollandase can be scary. When done properly, it's beautiful and rich but I saw some real sauce horror stories the other day. Under no circumstances should a sauce ever look like scrambled eggs. Gross. Thankfully, my partner and I managed to keep the sauce at the right temperature and it didn't break! Amazing. Can't wait to make a bernaise and pour over steak. Yum.

My final thought after stock class is: Does clarified butter smell like lobster or does lobster smell like clarified butter? Either way, I love butter.