Equipment Focus: Stock Cooking Systems

Across the world, great soup starts with superb stock. Whether it’s the delicate, complex broths in Japanese and Vietnamese soups or the rich, herbaceous broths used in American staples like matzo ball and chicken noodle – every great soup is bolstered by great broth.

Bone broths especially have experienced a resurgence in popularity here in North America in the last five years for their health benefits. In the kitchen, these fragrant and clear broths are made by carefully and slowly boiling bones in water for long periods of time to extract maximum flavor and nutrients including collagen. In the bone broth-making process, the bones are ‘blanched’ for a short period in boiling water to set the proteins, limit leaching of the blood, and maximize the final clarity of the broth. This step is necessary before the stock development process begins. To make stock, the blanched bones are then boiled for extended periods (up 10-12 hours) with vegetables and seasoning.

How Does the Process of Manufacturing Large Volumes of Stock Differ from Kitchen-Scale Recipes?

Large ‘industrial scale’ manufacture does add complexity compared to stock making in a kitchen. The large batch sizes require not only large cooking equipment but also consideration of the effects of handling large quantities of both raw and cooked bones. Accurate temperature cooking is achieved using steam jackets. The overall cooking time for large volumes of stock can be reduced using over-pressure, and an increase in cooking temperatures up to 250°F (121°C). Commonly, in industrial manufacture the bones might be boiled, the water drained & removed and then the bones are refreshed with fresh water, and the process re-started. 

How is Clear Stock Achieved at an Industrial Scale?

Following the initial blanch of the stock bones, the resulting leaching of congealed blood is removed ensuring the clarity of the broth. For industrial manufacturers of stock, this process can be completed in a kettle process and automated thanks to DC Norris’ recipe-driven systems (Recipe Manager). The bones are generally loaded into a series of stainless steel baskets, within a low-risk environment; then lifted and lowered into the kettle. Once the cooking is completed the stock is removed by decanting through a bottom outlet and pumped into a holding or mixing tank for further processing. 

The bones are then cooled by rinsing with cold water, before being lifted from the kettle and removed. The cooling water isn’t wasted, as this is then used as a base for the next batch. This process of cooling the bones is a necessary safety step to allow handling of the bones after cooking. Often, the cooling process is a Stock Cooking System by DC Norris is also automated.

What is the Ideal Kettle Design for Industrial Stock Cooking?

In some cases, and generally after the initial cooking of the bones; other ingredients such as vegetables might be added to the kettle. These can be added manually or mechanically lifted and tipped into the kettle on top of the meat and bone. It is important that the bones are covered with the cooking water to maximize yield and flavor, therefore the ideal kettle design should be ‘short and squat.’

Example Kettle System for Stock Production

Stock Kettles − Two (2), 500-gallon cooking kettles suitable for cooking under pressure conditions at 15psi (1Bar) and temperatures of 250°F (121°C). − The kettle has a hinged lid designed to swing clear of the kettle allowing access for loading of the baskets. The lid is secured using manual swing bolts. − The steam jacketed area and sides of the kettle are insulated and clad in a fully welded stainless steel sheath. Steam jacket to bottom section only. Direct steam injection system option.

 

DC Norris Stock Systems Testimonial

“We are a leading manufacturer of gourmet soups for the US food industry, typically serving foodservice operators, grocery retailers, and restaurants, and were looking for a new and flexible system to reduce our processing times, improve on our already excellent product quality and give us more flexibility. We contacted DC Norris to inquire about their innovative food processing solutions, in particular, the feasibility and benefits of installing their Jet Cook Steam Infusion System into our brand new production facility in the US. After a successful presentation to our team, we visited DCN in early 2013 where our chefs were able to extensively trial products in their state-of-the-art product development kitchen.

Following the great success of the trials, we placed an order for a large Soups and Stock Production line, incorporating the world-leading DCN Jet-Cook Steam Infusion System. Once installed we found the production times using Steam Infusion to be dramatically quicker than our previous traditional systems, whilst giving excellent finished product quality with no burn-on contamination. The support of the DC Norris technical team in the UK and their recently opened office in the USA has been first class. We look forward to working with DC Norris again in the future, especially as we plan to grow our business and further develop our product range.”

Other Soup & Stock Innovations from DC Norris

Creating Concentrated Stock (Demi Glaze) From Rendered Bone Fat with the DCN Jet Cook ™ System

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOfNumZhRvc

 Chicken Noodle Soup with the DCN Jet Cook (™) System

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlaCtTeSz_E

Relevant Equipment Pages

Steam Jacketed Cooking Kettles https://www.dcnorrisna.com/equipment/cooking/kettles-steam-electric/

DCN Jet Cook ™ https://www.dcnorrisna.com/integrated-systems/jet-cook/

Recipe Manager https://www.dcnorrisna.com/software/

Lifts & Hoists https://www.dcnorrisna.com/equipment/industrial-lifting-discharging/

Request More Information About Our Stock & Soup Cooking Systems

DC Norris is the world’s leading manufacturer of innovative, efficient food processing machinery. Putting more than 50 years of global experience to work for every client we serve; we design, build and install machinery that revolutionizes the way food is manufactured.

When you’re ready to speak with one of our skilled specialists about the food machinery that best suits your stock production needs, we’re here for you. Call, chat or complete our contact form to request a returned call. We can’t wait to help your recipe become the star of the table.