Class 2, Knife Skills & Stock Making
I'mmm back. With a crazy travel schedule I missed a couple weeks so I may be hopping back and forth between concepts/classes! Chef Pascal advised that in kitchen life you only need 4 knives to work your culinary magic. High carbon steel is best and you can find a great knife in a variety of price ranges.
1) Chef's Knife (8-9 in)
2) Paring Knife
3) Boning Knife
4) Slicer
5) * A Steel for sharpening
Knifes should be sharp enough to cut paper. If you hold up a piece and slash through it (safely) it should easily cut through. If it tears or rips the paper it is going to tear and rip your food. This is an oddly satisfying experiment to try at home.
Cutting Boards: Wood & the newer types made of Bamboo are great. Those clear plastic ones with little rubber feet are NOT cutting boards. Note: If Chef Pascal is over for dinner and sees you using one, he will not say anything but will be shaking his head mentally at you.
Remember to have good posture when you are cutting and look down at the food, not at an angle. Cut forward, do not chop up and down.
The rest of the class focused on stock making. We started with the neccessary basic, chicken stock. Number one take away, do not use cooked or roasted bones for chicken stock making. You need raw bones if you want the best flavor. You don't need expensive bones or parts however, chicken necks, wings and even feet are great. Trimmings are also fine, but stay away from chicken livers as it will impart a bitter flavor.
Start with a proper stock pot and inside put 1 part bone and trimmings to 1/2 part mire poix (fancy name for chopped onions, carrots, and celery). Add Bouquet Garni (dried herbs: thyme, bay leaf, parsley and peppercorns), some garlic and cold water. Fill the pot up to where all the ingredients are submerged with about an inch of water. Now bring to boil as soon as possible, as soon as it gets to boiling, bring the heat down to simmer. Never put a lid on it so evaporation occurs. Simmer it for 2-3 hours. Strain it twice. Once through a larger mesh and then through a finer one. Chill the broth quickly in a tub of ice and then use or freeze in small containers. That's it. Nothing too complicated and although it takes time, there is not much babysitting you have to do while it cooks. You are free to enjoy housewife marathons on TV while playing words with friends as a homemade broth cooks to perfection!
We also covered Veal Stock. Something that none of us will ever try at home. Not only are the bones extremely expensive, the prep time is considerable as well as the cook time...10-12 Hours. Whew, Chef Pascal says he will offer it for students to purchase because once we get a taste of what veal stock can do, well we may well never be able to go back. Veal stock reduces to Demi- Glace (1/2 Glaze) which to chefs and the food world is truly brown gold. The richness, versatility and depth of flavor of demi glace is what upscale restaurants have that a home cook will never have in their arsenal. You can purchase ready made demi-glace in some stores, but there are not all natural and are pre-salted, so you can not control the level when adding it to your cooking.
That's it for this one friends, next up stocks for making soups! Mmmm soup love.
