Time v. Temp in reduction

Depends on the level of quality you're reaching for.

Stock is an infusion, just like tea or coffee. Would you choose to intensify the flavor of either by boiling?

On the other hand, you're right that 150F is too slow. It's not hot enough (except at extreme altitude). Assuming sea level, go for the hottest temperature below a boil you can maintain, probably 195ish.

The slow cooker at 150F is still a way of shortcutting the amount of attention you have to pay. There's a certain tradeoff in absolute time. Whether or not there's also a dimunition in quality, I can't say.

Mirepoix is ALWAYS added very early in the process in order to extract the maximum amount of the best flavor. If you want vegetables in your soup, strain the stock, and add the vegetables very late in the soup making process. Onion, carrots, and celery aren't always mirepoix; sometimes they're just veg.

If you add mirepoix as part of a deglaze, the mirepoix goes in before the deglazing liquid and is allowed to brown -- which makes it sweeter in its own right -- and helps create more fond. If mirepoix, as a rule (with exceptions) it's strained out before serving. If, on the other hand, it's a fine dice of aromatics intended for the table as in any sort of jardiniere, cut the vegetables attractively (e.g., "fine dice), saute them in a separate pan until browned and add to the nearly completed deglaze as late as possible; and if the deglaze depended on mirepoix, strain the mirepoix, and press the essence into the sauce before adding the fresh jardiniere.

BDL

 

I think when you boil a stock it re emulsifies the fat into the stock which is why it is usually kept at a slow simmer -- so you can skim the fat off. I assume with the fat re emulsified it would just change the mouth-feel of the stock.

 

Maybe I'm not sure exactly where in the process you are; but mirepoix which is going to be strained out and pressed, should be added as soon in the process as possible in order to ensure complete extraction and intensification. In some cases, it should be strained out after only a few hours in the pot, but that's a different story. The essence is still added and made a part of the reduction asap.

I'm probably more conservative and old-fashioned when it comes to technique than whomever wrote that particular section of the CIA textbook; and for whatever it's worth, my advice is better.

Oh well.

Looking forward to it.

Good luck,
BDL

 

Wow, that is a bold statement.

For whatever it's worth, when I make a brown stock i will caramelize the mirepoix after roasting the bones, wrap in rinsed cheesecloth and add to the stock for just the amount of time necessary to infuse the flavors, then remove and discard. White stock I add my mirepoix toward the end of the reduction to highlight the flavors, not mute them. I'm not a "pusher" when it comes to passing the solids through a chinois, makes the stock cloudy.

 

You're tea-bagging your mirepoix. Cool.

With white stock, I add the ingredients in the same sequence and with the same timing as I would for a normal (yellow) or roast chicken (brown) stock -- but don't use anything that would add color to the stock. For instance, the chicken is raw and the mirepoix contains parsnip rather than carrot in order to avoid coloration.

In my experience as a saucier, what's important about white stock is the color -- or rather lack of it -- and not any extra flavor. White stock is more about presentation and delicacy than flavor, and a good thing too. As a rule, the darker the stock the more flavor.

Furthermore, I think that less time in the stock for the mirepoix means less flavor. Less time doesn't "highlight," just the reverse.

I don't pass the solids through a chinois, I extract the moisture, and their last bit of essential juices by pressing them the back of a wooden spoon in a very fine sieve. If I thought I was getting solids, I'd add a layer of cheesecloth to prevent that. No way will I let those essences go to waste. They are structure, they are part of the spine of flavor, they make a difference.

If I'm attempting a completely clear stock, no matter how careful I am during the process to eliminate solids, I'll clarify the stock as a nearly final step by fltration with an egg-white raft and/or a cheesecloth lined sieve. Then, I'll sieve again just before service. just to break up any remaining air bubbles -- for clarity and silkiness.

However, that's another thing entirely. In this case, the OP is working towards a glace, not a buillon or consomme; and that sort of clarity is unnecessary.

BDL

 

vérité dans la cuisson