Sunday projects: Make your own chicken stock

chicken stockIn our family, we tend to hang around the house on Sundays. It’s a time for straightening, doing homework, and getting ready for the upcoming week. It’s also a time to delve into any home-based projects.

At our house the projects may include canning, cheese making, mead brewing, making homemade cat food, or any number of activities. Stock making is probably one of my common Sunday activities.

Remember those roasted chickens we make each week? We freeze the bones complete with bits of skin and meat and save them for stock Sundays.

Get into the habit of making your own stock. You’ll use it in any number of recipes. While it may sound intimidating, it isn’t. You just have to have an extended period of time to hang out at home.

Ingredients:

  • 2 chicken carcasses
  • 3 onions, roughly chopped
  • 5 stalks celery, cut into thirds
  • 4 carrots, cut into thirds
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp whole peppercorns, in a spice ball
  • 4 whole garlic cloves
  • 2 sprigs parsley
  • 6 sprigs thyme

stock pot

Instructions:

  • Now, just grab a big pot, throw it all in and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low to keep it at a low simmer.
  • If the water boils down, add enough to keep the bones covered.
  • Be sure to skim the gray foam and debris that rises to the surface. This is where having those peppercorns comes in handy. If they are floating freely, you’ll have a bugger of a time avoiding them as you clear the foam.
  • Allow the stock to simmer for 6-8 hours. You’ll have a nice, golden-hued liquid ready to be used in future recipes.
  • Strain and then refrigerate. After the stock has cooled in the refrigerator, you’ll be able to scrape the solidified fat from the top. (Don’t worry if the stock appears gelatinous.)
  • Keep what you’ll need over the next week in the refrigerator and then freeze the rest of the stock.

Note: You’ll notice that the stock does not contain salt. This will allow you flexibility to adjust the seasoning level of whatever dish you make with it.

 

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *