Is it possible to cook stock too long?
Obviously, there's a point where you've extracted most of the flavor you're going to get, but is there a problem with leaving the bones in the crockpot on low for longer than that?
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14 Comments:
well, it will just keep reducing, so it may be stronger than you want, but the fix for that is easy enough: just add water. Leaving it boiling for too long isn't good for it, but simmering a few extra hours isn't a problem.
thepictsie at 3:47AM on 10/08/08
well, all the liquid could evaporate and then the pot would burn : )
NanaJoie at 7:31AM on 10/08/08
There is a danger, if you include vegetables or other plant matter, that as the ingredients cook they continue breaking down - and then you end up with a stock cloudy with particulate matter that's too small to strain out. That might also be a problem with bones and meat, but I've only heard of it with vegetables (which should only cook in the stock about an hour anyways).
producestories at 8:48AM on 10/08/08
If you expect to remove the meat from the stock to use in the end recipe, you may have trouble extracting it off the bones if you cook the stock too long. In the case of chix stock, it turns to mush; with beef, it loses all its flavor.
Evaporation is also a problem - and thepictsie had the fix ^ just add water. Producestories also pointed out that your resulting stock will be cloudy if your veggies break down too much. Being a fan of rustic soups, this wouldn't bother me one bit but if you were looking for a clear stock, you'd have some problems.
You mention just "bones" in your question - what else did you use to make the stock and how long did you actually cook it?
therealchiffonade at 8:59AM on 10/08/08
Since you mention the crock pot, you shouldn't have too much of a problem with evaporation. I've let crock pot stocks and broths go over the originally intended "overnight" (sometimes I just don't have time for them first thing in the morning), always on "low" (after an hour or two on "high" in the beginning), with no ill effects.
The latest example was turkey broth two weeks ago, which I left cooking for almost 36 hours as I didn't have time to attend to it earlier. Since I was going to use in a meatball and spinach soup, I wasn't worried about its clarity. Surprisingly, the vegetables were still intact when I fished them out of the broth (perhaps it helps that I do not cut them into pieces to begin with) and the resulting broth wasn't cloudy at all (I ladled it through a mesh strainer into another pot, as I always do with crock pot stocks and broths), but was incredibly flavourful.
brooke29 at 10:48AM on 10/08/08
Thanks all. I seem to be in a frenzy of cooking things for storage, but the timing of the crockpot portion of the event is messing with me. At some point, the choice is to take it out of the crockpot, but then not have the time to strain it, cool it and freeze it right away, or let it simmer away until I have time to deal with it. Keeping it simmering longer seems to make more sense (and be safer) than having it sit longer at room or fridge temps. I'm not worried about clarity, and there are no veggies yet and no salvageable meat to worry about.
dbcurrie at 1:30PM on 10/08/08
@db ~ I am no help here, but getting more excited that I purchased the crockpot!
izatryt at 6:04PM on 10/08/08
@iz, a crockpot is a handy device, particularly if you can't babysit whatever is cooking. I'd never leave a pot simmering on the stove all night, but I have no problems with the idea of leaving something simmering in the crockpot overnight or if I'm gone during the day. I'm sure you'll find plenty of uses for it.
dbcurrie at 6:15PM on 10/08/08
just before i leave to party on new years eve i put pork, kielbasa, and sauerkraut into my crockpot with a bottle of dark beer and set it on low.
when i wake up the next morning my house is filled with te most delicious smell and after whipping up some mashed taters i'm all set with the best hangover food ever. (plus, it's supposed to bring you luck for the year)
love my crockpot.
gastronomeg at 11:46AM on 10/09/08
In fact, it is possible to over-cook a fish stock. If you let it go for several hours instead of stopping it after about 30-45 minutes, you get a really fishy tasting stock. It's not just because of the water evaporation either. If you add water back to it, it still tastes off. I'm speaking from experience on this one!
girlcookinparis at 2:57AM on 10/10/08
it's not called stock after it has reduced by half..it's then dem glace. which is very rich and used to flavor sauces...not really used as a base for soups or such.
carolinemarie at 9:21AM on 10/10/08
That's a great comment about the demi glace. I agree - a demi-glace is extremely rich and flavorful. However, I believe you still need to decant the stock (get rid of the bones & aromatics - onions, carrot, bouquet garni, etc, etc) before you start the reduction, which can take hours, for it to become a demi-glace. If you do that long reduction with all that stuff in it, the flavors are not as good as if you did it without them. There's a difference in taste -- that's what I was trying to say in my first comment. I'm still talking about fish stock in this case.
girlcookinparis at 1:27PM on 10/10/08
OK all you Crock Pot users ... I need some help. I just bought my first slow cooker primarily for stock, however I'd also like to adapt some of my oldie, but good recipes to this cooking method.
1. Do I just use the time I normally use for a recipe? (i.e. oven roast, etc.?)
2. I'm an Arborio rice addict ... can I add the rice to the pot with the meat, veggies, broth, etcetera?
3. Are there any good 'crock pot' recipe web sites you can recommend?
I'll bless you for any & all advice, Carolyn
swish at 8:46PM on 10/11/08
Swish congrats on your great new item. You will need to cook longer-a lot longer if you cook on low. A lasagna on low is 4 hours. A big roast is all day on high.chicken and rice (w/ raw rice) is about 5 hours. Stock can take a good 24 hrs but you see above someone went 36 and it was still good. go to recipezarr or allrecipes and type in crockpot and tons of recipes should appear. i think bettycrocker.com also has a section on crock pot cooking.
love2cook at 5:00PM on 10/12/08