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The homemade broth blueprint

The homemade broth blueprint

& is the Ninja Creami overhyped? + Sushi-grade seafood tips

Ethan Chlebowski & Keith McBrayer
May 05, 2024

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RECIPE BREAKDOWN🤯

Homemade broth blueprint

Today we’re bringing back the newsletter exclusive blueprint with some extra context!

Why make your own?

Quality: Storebough broth (especially beef broth) isn't that good. It lacks body and depth of flavor.

Additionally, it contains stabilizers that make it shelf stable but yield off-flavors.

In a pinch, you’re almost always better off using a bouillon product, which provides more concentrated and true broth flavors.

Economic: Homemade broth is usually made with food scraps. You’re getting a better product from no extra spending and reducing food waste.

Easy prep: Broth can be made in large batches and easily frozen in freezer bags, ice cube trays, or deli containers for long-lasting storage but easy deployment.

What’s the difference between broth and stock?

Stock is generally made from bones, resulting in a thicker, more gelatinous product. Broth is generally made with meat flesh or just vegetables for a thinner, cleaner-flavored liquid.

Confusingly, this means bone broth is technically a stock.
The two can be used interchangeably in recipes, although stock will add a richer mouthfeel.

Today’s framework is for an all-purpose home cooking broth to use in a variety of recipes, and to make with whatever you might have on hand.

In the culinary world, there are dozens of specialty variations: Seafood stocks, blond broths, dashi, mushroom or vegetable broths, emulsified tonkotsu style ramen broths, and clarified bouillons, to name a few.

Method & guidelines

Tip: Get in the habit of collecting meat & vegetable scraps in a freezer bag. When it gets full, make a batch.

Use the image above as a loose framework…ratios are by approximate volume and not exact. Use more of whatever ingredients and flavors you want to be more pronounced, but start with:

4 parts water
2 parts meat, bones, or vegetable scraps
1 part aromatic base: alliums & aromatic vegetables (like onions, garlic, scallions, carrots, celery, etc.)
1/8 part spices & flavor adjusters: bay leaves, whole dried spices, ginger slices, mushrooms, etc

Optional prep: Roast or sear the meat, bones, and aromatic vegetables until deeply browned.

This gets you a darker, sweeter, and more savory broth. For a cleaner flavored broth, use un-roasted meat and vegetables.

To make the broth:

1) Add all components to a pot, and cover with water. Bring to a simmer, then back the heat off until it’s barely bubbling.

2) Simmer for as long as you want, between 1-8 hours depending on how many bones or tough cuts of meat you’re using. The longer you go, the stronger the flavors and the more gelatinous the end product will be. If the liquid reduces too much, add more water to prevent burning.

3) Strain into containers (or ice cube trays) and freeze for later use.

RECIPE RECOMMENDATIONS 🥡

Cooking with homemade broth

A flavorful broth can enhance not just soups, but many other dishes, particularly when ingredients absorb the cooking liquid. For example, these foods greatly benefit from a quality broth or stock:

Rice, risotto, & congee dishes
Braises
Deglazing & pan sauces
Salsas & stir fry sauces
Beans, lentils, and other grains

If you want to get inspired, we put together an overflowing collection of recipes to make with homemade broth/stock.

FOOD TRENDS EXPLAINED 🚀

Is the Ninja Creami overhyped?

Why are people adding yet another appliance to their counters?

Home cooks love their cooking equipment, especially trendy appliances. From the George Foreman Grill to the Air Fryer, every generation seems to produce a pet countertop gadget.

Now, we’re in the Ninja Creami era, which rose to popularity thanks to social media, its accessible price point, and its ability to produce lower-calorie frozen treats.

It works by slicing through a canister of frozen ingredients, which produces ice cream-like textures, an ability previously reserved for industrial and expensive restaurant-grade machines.

Ice cream textures are usually possible at home thanks to sugars and fats found in heavy cream or egg yolks in a custard base.

The appliance allows for frozen treats without these caloric additions.

As a result, it blew up on TikTok among health influencers making protein ice cream and shakes.

But popularity comes with criticism. Some reviews say that Creami recipes do not feel or taste like ice cream, instead making frozen yogurt or smoothie-like textures.

Indeed, its slicing mechanics incorporate less air than traditional ice cream churning, which slowly aerates the base mixture and produces more scoopable textures.
This churned air in the ice cream is known as “overrun,” which insulates the ice particles and allows scoops to resist melting. A criticism of the Creami is that it produces treats that melt quickly.

While we can see the utility of this device, we recommend first outfitting your kitchen with essential, multipurpose tools.

Check out our curated kitchen equipment recommendations here:

READER Q&A 🧠

Buying sushi-grade seafood

Once you’ve sourced high-quality fish, this poke bowl is a great intro to enjoying raw fish at home.

Question: “How do I buy sushi grade salmon or tuna for some at home sushi rolls? ” - Katie W

Answer: Unfortunately there are no official regulations or reigning organizations (like the USDA) around sushi-grade fish in the US.

Keywords like: ‘sushi’, ‘sashimi grade’ or ‘great served raw’ or good signs (but not regulated). If you are having doubts, look up the seller online to see if you can find more information.

Buying frozen and thawing yourself is often the best way to source a fresh product: look for large tuna or farm-raised salmon blocks. It’s counterintuitive, but frozen is often fresher because it hasn’t been thawed out multiple times in the supplying process.

If you need fresh fish to use immediately, ask the fish counter at your local supermarket (even better: a fish market) what they would recommend. Grocery stores often make sushi themselves, so you should be able to find what they are using.

Have a question? Reply to send it in!