Hallelujah! Stock day!
We made the beginnings of Fond brun de veau (brown veal stock) and we made fond blanc de volaille: poulet poché (white chicken stock with poached chicken). We also got to make Riz nature! For those of you following along at home: that’s right! We made poached chicken and plain boiled rice! Hospital food all the way!
I’m thrilled that we’ve learned a couple of stocks! Brown stock involves roasting the bones of the animal, white stock absolutely not. For the mirepoix on the white stock, we also left out the carrots, leaving only the onions and celery.
I got to truss and carve a chicken! I can honestly say that I’ve never used a trussing needle before! I spoke with another friend of mine, and she guaranteed that I would never be using one again. I enjoyed it! If I happen to go on a rampage or a spree of some sort, this little beauty will most definitely be my weapon of choice! Ahhhh, my knife kit. Truly a thing of beauty.
I digress…
I did learn on incredibly handy little trick today! If you remove the wishbone (think collarbone) from the chicken before cooking it, carving the breasts becomes the easiest thing in the world! I had absolutely no problem carving my chicken today! Finding the joints was incredibly easy (wiggle the appendages, cut carefully where they move. No cutting through bones necessary!). Two legs, two thighs, two wings, two breasts cut into two pieces each, and two oysters! I was seriously concerned for my sanity, knowing that I would be trussing and carving a chicken after only one demonstration, but everything went incredibly smoothly! Chef actually thanked me for a good presentation!
Well, at least I know one thing for sure. Next time somebody needs poached chicken and plain boiled rice, I’m your man!
