Food Recipes Soups The Best Soups, Stews, and Sauces Start With Homemade Stock and Broth From chicken stock and mushroom broth to master stock and dashi, we've got every recipe you'll need to add layers of flavor. By Food & Wine Editors Food & Wine Editors This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors. Many of our galleries curate recipes or guides from a variety of sources which we credit throughout the content and at each link. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on November 13, 2023 Close Photo: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen If we had our way, learning how to make stock would be as much a part of the standard middle school curriculum as reading, writing, and arithmetic. The skill is that essential to cooking great meals at home, for soups, sauces, braises, and stews. A basic Vegetable Stock, Fish Stock, Slow Cooker Beef Broth, or Lemongrass and Chicken Stock is something you might use just as often as your multiplication tables, while Vegetable Bouillabaisse Broth, Nasturtium Broth, or Parmesan Broth might be more like a quadratic equation. But once you have the method down pat (and know the difference between stock and broth and how you use them), you've got the formula for multiplying flavor in sauces, soups, stews, hot pots, braises, and beyond. Here are some of our favorite recipes for this kitchen workhorse. 01 of 15 Classic Chicken Stock © John Kernick "If you use enough bones, it will be a little thick when cold, which means you have a good stock," says legendary chef André Soltner of this stock. It's perfect for bringing supple body to sauces, gravies, braises, and soups. Get the Recipe 02 of 15 Really Good Turkey Jus and Homemade Turkey Stock Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen F&W editor in chief Hunter Lewis says you should put this recipe at the top of your holiday to-do list, because it'll make every dish even more luxurious. "It yields a rich sauce to serve with your Thanksgiving turkey, as well as stock and richly seasoned turkey fat for upgrading your side dishes (not to mention a killer next-day sandwich)." Get the Recipe 03 of 15 Leftover Turkey Broth Getty Images Got turkey? This clever recipe from F&W culinary director at large Justin Chapple provides a simple method to making broth from scratch using your leftover roasted turkey carcass. Get the Recipe 04 of 15 Basic Dashi Former Chez Panisse creative director Sylvan Mishima Brackett shaves his own bonito from a block of dried Japanese tuna for dashi, but notes that the rest of us should buy the best quality bonito we can find. Get the Recipe 05 of 15 Shiitake Dashi Victor Protasio A gentle steep is the best way to coax the sweet umami — without any bitter notes — from kombu and shiitakes in this all-purpose dashi from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen. It makes an ideal base for Miso-Tofu Hot Pot with Ramen. Get the Recipe 06 of 15 Lobster Stock Paul Costello Crayfish and lobster provide a one-two punch of crustacean magic in chef Jamie Malone's rich seafood broth. After such a long simmer, you'll be tempted to sip it straight, but save some to use in her Pike Quenelles in Crayfish Sauce. Get the Recipe 07 of 15 Rich Mushroom Stock © Jonny Valiant Chef Michael White's herb and Marsala-amped mushroom stock is an excellent element anywhere you'd use vegetable stock, but it's a must in his vegetarian-friendly Individual Mushroom Potpies with Parker House Crust. Get the Recipe 08 of 15 Master Stock Master Stock. Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Christina Daley "There’s stock, and then there’s master stock. Unlike common broths and liquid bases, master stock — a braising liquid found in Cantonese and Fujian cuisines — isn’t meant to be consumed by itself or used as a soup base," explains chef Jon Kung. "Instead, it is meant mostly for cooking other things." Treated with care, a good master stock can last for years, Get the Recipe 09 of 15 Hot Pot Broth Justin Walker "Infusing chicken stock with fresh herbs and aromatics, as well as classic condiments like hot chile-sesame oil and chile bean sauce, quickly adds layers of flavor," says chef Nick Wong of his Steak and Shrimp Hot Pot. "Keep the additional salt light — the broth will become saltier as you cook ingredients in it." Get the Recipe 10 of 15 Herbal Chicken Bone Broth Charissa Fay / Food Styling by Nora Singley / Prop Styling by Maeve Sheridan Traditional Chinese medicine food therapist Zoey Xinyi Gong pairs whole chickens with jujube dates, goji berries, astragalus, and angelica root to make an herbal bone broth that warms you from the inside out. Get the Recipe 11 of 15 Beef Bone Broth Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Missie Crawford F&W Test Kitchen developer John Somerall says this rich, long-simmered beef bone broth "is terrific when used as stock in recipes, but is just as satisfying and delicious enough when enjoyed straight from a mug, gently warmed and topped with a bit of freshly ground pepper." Get the Recipe 12 of 15 Golden Assari Chicken Chintan Stock Emily Kordovich MasterChef Junior star Josh Reisner's ramen stock is packed with flavor: umami from dried shiitake mushrooms and Parmesan rinds, a touch of sweetness from Napa cabbage, and smoky notes from charred leek and katsuobushi. Simmering chicken feet in the stock gives it a silky texture. Get the Recipe 13 of 15 Rooster Soup Co. Broth Con Poulos There's no actual rooster in Mike Solomonov's chicken-based broth — rather it's named for Rooster Soup Co., the community-based restaurant that he opened to support vulnerable Philadelphia residents. The venture closed in 2019, but its soul lives on in nourishing dishes like Winter Squash Soup with Kale and Fideos. Get the Recipe 14 of 15 Duck Stock William Hereford 2017 F&W Best New Chef turbocharges game dishes like Hunter’s Stew with Duck Legs and Cannellini Beans by using a simple, savory stock made with two ingredients: water and roasted duck necks. Get the Recipe 15 of 15 Ham Hock Stock © Hugh Stewart Give yourself two hours to simmer chef Michel Nischan's ham hock stock and you'll have a glorious base to use in dishes like Missouri Baby Back Ribs with Apple Slaw for up to a month if you keep it in the freezer. In the Smoky Pork Stock recipe from the iconic culinary duo of Edna Lewis and Scott, smoked hocks or bacon bring an extra level of flavor. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit