Have you ever noticed the amount of people who discard the bones after they're done butchering an animal, not even giving it a second of thought as to what they could use them for? Sure, we all focus on the prime cuts of meat first, but what is usually getting thrown away is like pure gold, it just might not appear that way. Now, I'm not saying that I keep every single bone from a deer or turkey carcass, in fact, most times I don't. But, each year there is a certain amount that I will keep to make homemade stock with. To many, making their own wild game stock seems like a huge task. And for whatever reason, I think a lot of people shy away from diving into this because it seems like something that just takes forever, but really, it doesn't.
Here's my advice on making a rich homemade stock... start it on a lazy Sunday morning. Yes, seriously. Make a cup of coffee, roast some bones and get the process going before anyone else in your house is even up. By 9am, you'll be feeling like you've accomplished something great and all you'll have left is to let it simmer for a few hours. See what I mean with it being the perfect Sunday thing?
Here's my recipe for making a super simple and delicious duck stock. Just remember, that stock can vary a lot due to many factors, so use this recipe as a base and tweak to your liking!
Homemade Duck Stock
Ingredients
1-2 duck carcasses/bones
3 stalks of celery, chopped into 3 inch sections
1 white onion, cut into quarters
3 carrots, chopped into 3 inch sections
1 bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley
2 bay leaves
1/2 small can of tomato paste
1 cup of red wine
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Recipe
Preheat your oven to 425F. In a large roasting pan, add the celery, carrots, onion, duck bones and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle enough olive oil to lightly coat everything and toss so everything is evenly spread out across the pan. Roast for 25 minutes or until the bones and the vegetables have browned. Remove all ingredients from the pan and place into a large stock pot.
Place the empty roasting pan on the stovetop over medium heat and deglaze with the tomato paste and red wine. Use a wooden spoon to scrape all of the brown bits that are stuck on the bottom of the pan. Pour this liquid into the stock pot.
Fill the stock pot with enough cold water to cover all of the ingredients and add the bay leaves and parsley. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer for 3.5-4 hours.
Once the stock has simmered and reduced down, strain into another pot, so that you're just left with liquid. At this point, let the stock cool and skim the top to remove any oil that has settled. Between the duck bones and vegetables, there will be a considerable amount of oil that should be removed prior to storing.
Once skimmed and strained, your stock is ready to use! From here, I actually can mine in mason jars, using the hot water method and store on a shelf in my pantry.
