An All-Purpose Soup Stock

Personally, I am not in a habit of making a lot of soup stock and storing it up for future use. While soup stock made from soup bones and/or meat does well with refrigeration, fish and vegetable soups lose their freshness overnight. Hence, I offer only one recipe for making a generic soup stock

2 pounds chicken breast bone

2 pounds pork neck bone

1 ham shank bone (optional)

10 - 20 black mushroon stems (optional)

1-2 cups shrimp shells (from peeling 1/2 - 1 pound of shrimp) (optional)

1 pound of chicken gizzards

1 pound of chicken feet, toenails clipped off (optional)

4 ounces of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thick slices

Rinse all ingredients.

Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil in a large soup pot. Add half of the ginger and all of the bones, chicken gizzards and the chicken feet (if using) to the boiling water. Boil until fat and scum rise to the top (about 10 minutes). Drain and rinse solids after discarding the liquid.

Fill a large stockpot with 5 quarts of water and add the parboiled solids, shrimp shells and mushroom (if using), and the remaining ginger. Bring to a boil, boil for 10 more minutes, and then reduce the heat to medium-high. Continue to boil, with the lid elevated by a pair of chopsticks, for 3 hours or more.

Strain the stock. Skim off any obvious fat. Cool stock, then pour into lidded containers or double-zipped storage bages to go into the freezer, stacked upright. Be sure to label and date each storage bag. The stock will keep for a month in the freezer, but it is best to use it sooner.

This should result in 2 quarts of stock.