Making stock...in the oven? Michael Rhulman's method. Have you tried it?

T

traca

Well-known member
From his website:

"Chop up that carcass or pull it apart so that it fits into your biggest pot. Cover it with water, enough so it’s covered by an inch or so of water. Bring it to a simmer. Skim off anything that rises to the top that you wouldn’t want to eat if you saw it floating in a bowl of soup. Then, this is important, stick the pot in your oven at about 180 degrees F (or as close to that as possible). And forget about it for fours. Or five. Or six. As long as it’s not bubbling you’re good. It should not be bubbling, but it should be too hot for you to hold your hand against for more than an instant.

An hour before you want to take it out of the oven, add a couple carrots and a couple big Spanish onions, cut up, and continue cooking in the oven for another hour (if you have celery, parsely, thyme, garlic, bay, peppercorns, these are good to add as well, esp the thyme). Strain through a colander. Then, and this is important in my opinion, strain it through a kitchen cloth, cheese cloth if you have it, or any kind of cloth (I use ones that i can wash and reuse because I’m a cheapskate and hate to keep buying cheese cloth). Straining through cloth makes a huge difference (chinois won’t do it in my opinon). Now it’s ready to use or chill it and take the fat that congeals off the top."

http://ruhlman.com/2007/11/thanksgiving-th/

 
I did this the other day with some lamb bones. It works great and

the end stock was wonderful. I put in some onions in the beginning because I like the flavor of the roasted onions. I don't use carrots because I don't like the sweetness they add.

 
Interesting. I listened to an interview with Thomas Keller once. He doesn't

use celery because he doesn't like the bitterness. Until he mentioned it, I never even realized the celery had a bitterness!

 
I recently read a Cook's Illustrated article that said braising in the oven is better than

on stovetop because of the heat distribution (all over vs. bottom up) and what caught my eye...that it's easier to maintain an even temperature. No need to constantly fiddle with the heat to maintain a low simmer.

Funny, I never made the leap applying that concept to stock, but will definitely be using that method now!

 
I read an article by Harold McGee who sais it was very dangerous because of

the growth of bacteria.He contacted Ruhlman who said he had neglected to put in that the stock must be brought to boil for (I forgot how long) to kill the bacteria.

 
I love braising in the oven. Even dried beans cook up beautifully. Didn't think about using the

method for stock.

 
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