Nordic Dashi

by Lars.

As part of our seaweed project, we have conducted rather extensive rounds of various stocks from Danish seaweeds. After some early exploration we settled into a dashi style method of preparation, finding this provided the best balance and flavor but avoiding unpleasant aftertastes. We ran the gamut of Scandinavian types, concentrating on Danish varieties from our excellent producer Rasmus, of Marifood. The søl stood out with a clean aromatic taste and we set about boosting the umami. Good success was had with chicken in various incarnations (sauted, roasted, salted, smoked etc.) with best results from brined, smoked, dehydrated and grated. Bakskul bones and bacon were even larger successes. We are continuing the tests; the perfect stock is out there.

We made our stocks sous vide, but the recipe will work fine in a pot with a kitchen thermometer.

Søl Stock

1 liter soft water (Danish tap water is too hard to extract glutamate from the seaweed)
20 grams Søl

Vacuum bag the Søl with the water and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Place in a water bath at 60 degrees and cook for 1 hour.

Strain the broth and cool. Do not attempt to extract all the liquid from the seaweed- this will force bitter compounds out