A great way to inject additional flavor into a stock is to caramelize the onions before you start.  You can use the caramelized onions as the base of a vegetarian stock; the caramel flavor will make vegetable stock much more dynamic.  We like to go the extra mile and use the onions as a secret weapon in our chicken or beef stock.

You can see the whole process for caramelizing onions here.

*Cut the ends off of your onion.  Cut the onion in half from end to end.
*Cut half moon-shaped slivers from your onions.
*Get your pan very hot on the stove.
*Add Oil
*Add onions to the pan and saute about a minute just to coat the onions with oil.
*Turn your pan heat down to Medium-Low.
*Patience is a virtue!!  You just want to stir your onions a few times, but let them do the work.  Unless you want “Burnt Onion Stock”, just let the sugar in the onions slowly caramelize.
*Once your onions are brown and sweet to the taste, add some sliced carrots and celery (maybe some garlic and a bay leaf if you’ve got it) and a little water.
*Simmer your stock about an hour, strain and cool!

It was on an outing to one of the country’s largest smokehouses that we saw what could possibly be the most beautiful sight EVER.  In addition to the VIP tour of the curing rooms, the display of the first commercially cured ham and a very informative video, we were shown the production lines.  There were high-pressure water knives.  There were racks full of thousand of cured ham.  And then there were the bags of love….

Let me explain.  For years, we have been making gallons of what we refer to as “Hox Stox”.  It is nothing more than a slowly simmered stock pot full of smoked ham hocks and water with the occasional herb stem thrown in.  After a few hours on a low simmer, this produces a richly flavored stock with enough gelatin to get a full jiggle when refrigerated.  We thought it was a little-known trade secret to add a touch of “hox” to a dish, only to leave our dinner guests with the “can’t put my finger on that flavor” sensation.  But here we were, watching 5-gallon bags of “hox stox” rolling off the production line at a world famous smokehouse!

So, in lieu of boxed/canned stock, keep a few ham hocks around for an inexpensive and easy stock substitute.  And p.s….don’t even think about throwing away the meat from those little babies.  It is fantastic in soups, greens, eggs…you name it!