Full-flavored stock is the foundation of so many delicious dishes. From Gumbo to Lentil Soup, stock is a great place to start. In the Teaching Kitchen, we stash chicken bones and vegetable trimmings in the freezer and turn to the trusty Instant Pot or Slow Cooker to ready batches of chicken stock. In a pinch, a carton of chicken stock is a sensible solution. No matter if you’re cooking low and slow, turning to your time-saving instant pot or sprucing up a store-bought carton, having flavorful stock at the start means delicious meals in the end.
1- Shrimp Stock
Got 30 minutes? If so, you’ve got the time to make Shrimp Stock. This flavorful liquid is one of Anne’s back burner secrets for soups, stews and sauces. Shrimp peelings along with a few aromatics make for a rich stock that cannot be mimicked with anything out of a can or carton. Unlike our big batch, long-cooking Chicken Stock and Vegetable Stock, we recommend making shrimp stock in smaller amounts. We usually create only the amount of stock we need for that dish. Try it in our Sweet Corn and Shrimp Soup, this amazing Shrimp Curry or this cajun classic- Crawfish Etouffee.
Be sure to listen to Anne’s Q&A on stock and broth on our podcast Smidgen. It’s a fun listen plus we make soup and sandwiches. Prepare to be inspired!
2- Chicken Stock
Homemade stock means long hours over the stove, tons of ingredients and a big mess, right? 100% wrong. First, up our stock is made of items that were destined for the trash bin. Next, we store them in a ziptop freezer bag. Then we put our slow cooker to work to lazily bubble up 15+ cups of full-flavored stock. So, the answer is absolutely yes! You can make your own homemade stock. (PS: for our Vegetarian and Vegan friends, check out our Vegetable Stock!)
3- Vegetable Stock
Like our homemade Chicken Stock, this vegetable stock comes together with ingredients that would normally end up in the garbage can or compost pile. No high stakes here. This is a flavorful liquid that will pay you forward in soups, stews and curries. Store vegetable trimmings in a zip top freezer bag and put your slow cooker to work doing the heavy lifting, er, simmering.
4- Enhance Store Bought Stock
To quote our dear friend Ina Garten (we haven’t met, but we’re sure we’d be instant bff status): Store bought is fine. A carton of chicken stock is a great addition to a well-stocked pantry. We give it a quick simmer with some aromatics, pop in a bay leaf and maybe even a chile for some pop. To infuse rich umami flavor, we added parmesan rinds along with a bit of charred onion and bay leaf. The result? A carton stock that is definitely good for the soul.
