Stock from leftover Roast

We enjoyed some delicious roast duck on Christmas day. I always make stock with the bones leftover from a roast because it's basically free and not to mention, yum! The duck made a lovely dark and rich stock, which I think I will use in a risotto. The stock is also nice as a soup base with some tiny pasta and a few diced veggies.

If you're feeling frugal you can collect the ends from your onions and the tops from your spring onions in a ziploc bag in the freezer. When it's time to make stock, just dump them all in the pot.

You can do this with chicken bones, duck, beef and I'm sure lamb would work too. I've been pretty vague with amounts because it really depends on how many bones you have, but it's easy to work with whatever you've got.


Basic Stock

Cooked bones from your roast (I used 2 duck carcasses and necks)

A handful of vegetable pieces for flavour (I used a carrot, my onion scraps and a celery stick)*

Salt

Water

Put bones into a large pot and cover with cold water. Add the vegetables and some salt to season. Bring to the boil and simmer over very low heat for a few hours (the longer the better). You want to simmer it as low as you can, so the water is just shimmering. Check seasoning and adjust if necessary. If I'm going to use the stock for a risotto, I go easy on the salt because I don't like super salty risotto. Strain out the bones and your stock is pretty much ready to use. 

If you want to remove the fat, I find it easiest to chill the stock in the fridge so that the fat solidifies. It's then easy to scoop off with a spoon 

*You could also use leek, parsley, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns