All Great Dishes start with stock. A good stock can make the difference from a extraodinary dish to a bland dish. Its the base of soups and sauces and its a chef secret. However, most people arent even aware of how significant it is. Luckily, you can make your own restaurant grade stock. All you need is a large stock pot and a few cuts of meats. While you can use your dutch oven, the Best Stock Pot are tall and limits evaporation.

What is a Stock Pot

The traditional Stock Pot is a long cylindrical pot. Some manufacturer will call a dutch oven a stock pot, but they arent true stock pot. Stock pot needs to be tall and small in diameter. By using this shape, it limits the rate of evaporation. Dutch Oven are usually more wide than tall and that increase the surface area. As a result, more liquid is evaporated.

Metals and Materials

Since Stock Pots are generally use to simmer meats and bones, almost any type of pot will work. It does not matter if its copper, stainless steel or nonstick. In fact, I would argue that a nonstick stock pot is not even necessary. The only added benefit that it has is that its easier to clean.

Most of these stock pots are made thin with a thick base. That thick base helps initially with the searing process. But once you start heating up the liquid, the construction of the pot means little.

Copper Stock Pots can be seen in most French Kitchen. They are usually lined with tin and consider to be the “Best”. The reason for this is because copper conducts heat the best. However, Copper is a Soft Metal and eventually you need to retin it. Stainless Steel models dont have any of the issue.

What Size?

I would say the minimum size to get would be 8 qt, but 12 qt is the ideal size for most home kitchen. At that size, you can get around 3-4 qt of usable stock. If you need more stock and have a larger family, you can go bigger. Just be aware, the more qutanity of water you have, the longer it takes to heat up. It also takes quite a bit of room, so make sure you can fit it.

Water Taking Forever to Heat Up?

Most Stock should be made with a gentle simmer. However, during the initial stage, bringing it to a boil with rapid heat is fine. To get this done quicker, a easy trick is to use multiple pot. By doing this, you are utilizing all the burner on your stove.

If you must get those 20 qt behemoth of a stock pot. You might want to invest in a Separate Outdoor Burner. Those burnger are large and powerful enough to actually heat it up. On average, they have around 65,000 BTU of power. If you compare it to your home stove, that only has around 7,000 btu.

Best Stock Pot List

Below, you will find a list of some of the Best Stock Pot on the Market. I have listed a few in different categories, choose one that best suit your need.

All-Clad BD55512 D5 Brushed 18/10 Stainless Steel 5-Ply Bonded Dishwasher Safe Stock Pot with Lid Cookware (Best Overall)

All Clad 12 quart stock pot uses a durable a thick 5 layer of metal. Unlike other stock pot, this one is durable and wont flex under use. The handle is up and away from the body, giving you a comfortable grip. Something very important if you are transporting a huge amount of liquid. This model comes a sturdy metal lid as well.

T-fal B36262 Specialty Total Nonstick Dishwasher Safe Oven Safe Stockpot Cookware, 12-Quart (Best Buy)

If the other models are too expensive, than a more affordable option by T-Fal will do the job. Its thinner and flexes more than All Clad, however, you’re just boiling liquid. As long as you dont move it around too much, it should work just fine. Plus the nonstick coating makes it easier to clean.

Mauviel Made In France M’tradition 2157.24 13.7-Quart Soup Pot and Lid (Best Copper Stock Pot)

Want to cook like the French, than get one of these stock pot. They can be found all throughout french kitchen. These model use copper to rapidly heat up water. However, they do use tin and the beautiful copper hue will tarnish. While it is nice, there is a lot of upkeep associated with it. But hey, the French use it for a reason.

Viking 3-Ply Stainless Steel Stock Pot (Stainless Steel Best Buy)

While All Clad is nice, they are really expensive. Luckily, Viking is a good option. They are very well known in Professional Kitchen and some of their product rival the quality of All Clad. This model uses wide and comfortable handle and it has a tri ply construction similar to All Clad. Its still kinda expensive though.

Tramontina 80116/041DS Gourmet (8 qt Best Buy)

12 qt might be a little big for some. In that instance, getting a 8 qt one might be a good idea. You can make just enough for a small family. This model by Tramontina is rugged and tough much like All Clad and Viking. The handle is really comfortable as well. Best of All, its affordable.

Thoughts

Creating and using your own stock is key to bringing your cooking to the next level. While you can use a dutch oven, it simply evaporates too much liquid. The Best Stock pot are tough and durable. However, cheaper models like the nonstick one can do the job just as well. If you want to cook like the French go copper. However, the cheaper stainless steel model work as well.

Thinking about Le Creuset for a Stock pot? Check out our Le Creuset Stock Pot Review. Its not that great…