Scrap Stock
This zero-waste, trashcan-space-saving technique is basically free.
This recipe technique has helped me solve two big kitchen issues: waste and a smelly garbage can. I gradually became serious about home cooking which naturally led to making my own stock. I would diligently save any bones from roast chicken, Thanksgiving turkey, pan drippings, BBQ scraps, etc. But I realized that this left me with pretty boring stock. I needed some veggies and aromatics to round it out and really make it shine. Instead of buying produce for exactly this purpose, I decided to do what I did with the bones: save things that would otherwise go in the trash. Carrot peels, trimmed ends of any vegetable, butternut squash guts, the last bits of celery I couldn’t finish all go into my “soup bag.” My “soup bag” is an old gallon-sized zipper bag. I think it’s previous life was to transport leftovers from a friend’s house but I’ve reused it so many times that I honestly don’t remember anymore. I refill my soup bag as many times as possible until it has holes and the zipper doesn’t really work anymore, then and only then, does it finally go into the garbage. Once the bag is full, it’s time to make stock.
Depending on what you have in your soup bag, this will most likely not be a delicate stock. It will be more hearty and flavorful. More brownish and less clear. If you need something for a very simple or very fancy recipe, this is probably not the stock for that. For example, if I am making traditional chicken soup, I’d prefer to use s more plain stock. But if I’m making any other soup, you bet I’m using scrap stock. It’s pretty versatile. I use it for almost anything that requires stock and find that it doesn’t affect the flavor in a noticeable way. My all-time most favorite use for this is to make pho. The mish-mash of ingredients kind of fool you into thinking it is beef broth when it is, in fact, made from things you saved from the garbage bin.
Anything goes in the “soup bag.” Here we have the outer layer of onions, leek/carrot/cucumber ends, herb stems, ginger peel, and a lamb leg bone.
Scrap Stock
Servings: Varies depending on amount of scraps, water, and how you use the final product
Kitchen scraps; a lot of bones and some veggies is great, but anything goes
Filtered water
Kosher salt
Acid of choice: white vinegar, white wine vinegar, lemon juice
Pot with lid; large enough to just fit all of the scraps
Cooking spoon
Colander with small holes or wire mesh strainer
Second pot or large bowl
Place kitchen scraps in the first pot. Add 1-4 teaspoons of salt, depending on how many scraps you have. You want just enough salt to help draw out flavor and nutrients from the scraps but not enough to taste salty. Leave room to season the stock later, in whatever recipe you use it, especially if you are planning on reducing it in a sauce as the salt will concentrate. I typically add 2-3 teaspoons for a gallon-sized bag of scraps.
Add your acid. Just like the salt, you need a bit of acid to draw out more from your scraps, especially the bones. I usually add about 1 tablespoon of white vinegar when I’m making a gallon-sized bag of scraps.
Add water to cover the scraps by 1 inch. Bring water to a boil, skim off any foam that forms and discard. Reduce heat to a simmer, add the lid, and simmer for at least 4 hours. You might need to add a little water as it simmers and some water evaporates. This can cook as long as 12 hours if you have really big bones. You’re looking to see that the connective tissue of the bones has broken down so that all the bones are separate and no longer held together. That’s how you know you’ve gotten all of the collagen you can out of the scraps. When this happens, remove from heat: you’re ready to strain. (This step can be done in a slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 or in a pressure cooker in an hour or so.)
The second pot should be large enough to collect all of the liquid stock as well as hold your colander or strainer on top. Set the second pot in the sink, just in case you spill while pouring the stock. Scoop the scraps into the strainer. Pour the cooked stock and remaining scraps into the colander and let it drip and cool for 10-30 minutes. Once cooled, the cooked scraps can be discarded.
From here, you can proceed any number of ways:
Skim fat off of the hot stock with a ladle. Save fat for another use. The stock can then be used immediately or stored as stated in the last step.
Cool and refrigerate the pot of stock. Once cooled, use a spoon to remove the layer of fat on the top. Save for another use. The stock can then be used immediately or stored as stated in the next step.
Pour stock into glass containers for storage. If freezing, leave a generous amount of room to allow for expansion and to prevent breakage. Chilled stock can be added to plastic zipper bags for freezer storage. When left to freeze on a baking sheet, these make nice little flat packages that are easy to organize in the freezer. When using, defrost bags of stock in a bowl, just in case any holes formed while they were in the freezer.
This scrap stock is endlessly adaptable. Any bones work. Any edible vegetables work. If you want a lighter stock, use uncooked meat scraps. If you want a brown stock, roast your bones and scraps beforehand to give them a deeper, brown flavor. If you want a more gelatinous stock, use bones with more connective tissue like chicken feet, backs, or wings.
And one final note: I call this stock. Or soup stock. You could even call it broth if you want. The main difference is if there are bones or not. Bones=stock. No bones=broth. So technically speaking, bone broth is actually stock. Even more reason to just call this cooked liquid whatever the heck you want.
Straight out of the soup bag. A frosty mix of chicken bones, a chicken back, leek bits, squash guts, and the ever-present carrot/cucumber ends and onion peels.
Tips for a Non-Smelly Garbage Bin:
-Save all bones and edible vegetable scraps in a “soup bag” in the freezer
-Take any packaging for meat products, especially raw meat, to the dumpster asap
-Take cooked stock scraps to the dumpster asap
-Take discarded leftovers to the dumpster asap
-Take out the trash before going on a trip longer than 2 days
-Use your bathroom trash to start any new trash bag. The tissues, cotton balls, etc help to soak up any liquid that might collect in the bottom and leak into your trashcan. This has saved me from having to wash my trash can many times
