It’s the secret ingredient that adds depth, intensity, and structure to any dish! Stock is a great way to use up excess aromatic vegetables or veggies that are on their last legs like celery cores, slightly wilted carrots, or that random half an onion. It’s also the tastiest way to use parts of vegetables that you don’t normally cook with, like leek greens, scallion roots, and fennel fronds. Learn how to make your own simple stock by following this guide or checking out our other stock tips. Our Simple Stock is just a baseline to get started but we highly encourage you to get more creative!

Makes 2-4 quarts

Materials

• Leftover beef or chicken bones (unless you’re making vegetable stock)
• 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
• 5-6 large garlic cloves
• 4-5 large carrots, broken into pieces
• 4-5 large celery stalks, broken into pieces
• Herbs like parsley sprigs, black peppercorns, thyme sprigs, bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• other vegetable scraps*

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large stockpot. Cover ingredients by about 2 inches with water.
2. Place the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 hours, skimming off and removing any foam occasionally. Add water to the pot, as needed, to keep ingredients covered. 
3. Strain stock into a large bowl and compost the solids. Let cool to room temperature and cover and refrigerate for 5 hours, or overnight.
4. Skim solidified fat from the surface and discard.

Recipe Notes and Variations

*Vegetables that are great in stock: Onions, carrots, celery, garlic, leeks, fennel, mushrooms, thyme, parsley. Avoid cruciferous veggies like cabbage or brussels sprouts as they can make your stock bitter.

• If you’re making a vegetarian stock, add umami by tossing in the cheese rind from a  block of parmesan or by adding 3 tbsp of white miso paste. 
• Save your stock for later! Portion it out in Zip Top freezer bags, jars, or Tupperware and place in the freezer. Whenever you’re ready to use the stock, remove it from the freezer and defrost.
• Put your stock to use in our recipes for Gingery Miso Ramen with Kabocha Squash, Thai Green Curry with Chicken and Rice Noodles, or Egyptian Herby Stuffed Red Peppers.