Homemade Crock Pot Corn Stock---So Very Simple

Making Homemade Corn Stock

Summertime is the time to make corn stock.  Use it to make risotto, corn chowder, summer soup, rice, and anything you'd otherwise use broth.  Corn stock is so much easier than making a veggie broth because you really don't need a whole lot of veggies to get good flavor.  At the minimum you only need corn cobs, husks, peppercorns, and salt.  I think adding a bit more to the stock enhances the flavor, but if you are making stone soup, you can do just corn cobs.

Here is what you do-- get a hold of corn.  Discard the outer husks (the funky dirty ones), but save all the rest.  Save the silk, inner husk, cobs, and of course, the kernels.  I don't use any kernels when I make broth. I save the kernels and eat them, but you can include the corn kernels as well if you'd like.  When you have about 8 cobs, you are ready to make stock.  If you don't have enough cobs, then bag up your goodies and throw them in the freezer until you have enough corn goodies (you can see my freezer bag of corn cobs and other kitchen scraps in the first picture).  When you have all your corn goods, then get your stock pot ready.

In to the pot or slow cooker goes the following:

- about 8-12 corn cobs

- the husks and silks of one or two corns (you can use more, but these start adding a lot of bulk)

- 5-10 peppercorns

-salt

-Other aromatics:  carrots, peppers (I save all the ribs and seeds from bell peppers and put them into my freezer bag stock stuff), celery, onions, garlic, bay leaves, herbs, squash, etc.

Cover it all with water (use enough to cover the ingredients but no more than an inch more, otherwise your stock will be weak) and simmer for an hour (or if using a crock pot, for much longer).  Strain out the solids, then do yourself a favor and taste it.  If it weaker than you prefer, put it back in the pot and boil it down (harder to do in a crockpot-- you will have to remove the lid).  Taste it again and add salt as needed.  I wanted my broth to be concentrated, so I plopped it into a pot on the stove and boiled it down until it looked just right.

You are done!  I'm going to make some corn chowda.