[QUOTE=John Mace]
So, if I decide to do a serious reduction does it matter if I leave all the ingredients in the pot, or do you at some point just want the stock to boil by itself?
[/QUOTE]
If you want to do a serious glace de viande, do not leave the ingredients in the pot. It would be impossible to separate the glace from the veggies after the reduction. Besides, you want glace de viande to be as clear as possible. Just make your usual stock and cook it down for up to 12 hours (I usually don’t go much more than 6-8). Strain it, refrigerate it. The next day, skim off the solidified fat, and boil the sucker down until you get something that could coat the back of a spoon. For a gallon of stock, it really shouldn’t take all the long…two hours at the most. A gallon will reduce to about 1 to 2 cups of glace de viande. The more collagen and bones are in the initial stock, the quicker it will thicken and gelatinze.
Another point, don’t salt your stock beforehand, because you never know what you’ll be doing with it ultimately. If it is reduced to a fare-thee-well, you will have a tasty but most saline concoction. As the water evaporates, the saltiness becomes more concentrated. Salt whatever it is your MAKING with the broth/stock/glace.
[QUOTE=ivylass]
Oh, baby, I got one for my birthday. I planted rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, dill, parsley, and cilantro. The sage died, but the rest of the herbs took off like gangbusters…the cilantro alone got to be about three foot high.
In fact, I was looking at it yesterday (it’s in the backyard) and noticed some white flowered plants growing. I thought they were weeds, until I got out there to pull them and realized my cilantro was blooming!
[/QUOTE]
Cilantro…also known as coriander. Same plant. Coriander is the english name for the plant, and the english apparently just used the seeds rather than the leaves. Since the plant became re-introduced to the english speaking world through Mexican food, now everone uses the spanish name, cilantro. Indian food uses corainder/cilantro seeds quite a bit. Thais also use the roots.
[QUOTE=Baker]
Break the leg and wing bones before boiling. This exposes the marrow, which adds flavor and also helps it set.
[/QUOTE]
I was going to do that, but I was too lazy. I’ll try not to be so slothfull next time!
Good idea. I did put a little salt/pepper in, but it makes sense to add it later-- especially if you’re using it in other recipes that call for adding salt and pepper since you won’t know how much to add in that case.