I buy a lot of whole chickens. They are a frugal way to buy
meat and one bird can serve as the basis for several meals. As with any convenience food, the more
processed a chicken is, the more it will cost. This is why chicken breasts cost
so much more per pound than a whole chicken. You are paying for someone to cut
and trim your meat.
This week I roasted a six pound chicken. The four of us ate
the breasts as part of a roast dinner then I pulled all the remaining meat off
the bones and refrigerated it for later. The carcass I used to make stock.
Homemade chicken
stock is so much tastier than store bought. You can adjust the seasoning to
your tastes and control the amount of sodium added. I don’t add salt or pepper
to my stock. I add it when I add the stock to a recipe. This way I avoid over
salting.
Onion skins add flavor and color to the stock. |
To a large stock pot add the chicken carcass, two carrots,
sliced in half ( no need to peel), celery stalks with the leaves attached, one
large onion, cut in half with the skin left on, and two bay leaves.
Adding too much water will dilute the flavor of the stock. |
Fill the pot until the water is just above the chicken.
Cover and bring the pot to the boil, then reduce to a simmer
and let cook for three to four hours. The house will smell divine and your dog
will position himself in the kitchen, just in case there is some of that chicken
goodness for him (at least this is part of the recipe in my house!).
This is what is left of the stock ingredients. |
Let the
stock cool on the stove for a few minutes then strain the stock into a large
bowl.
Let the stock cool completely. If you are in a hurry you can
put the bowl in the fridge to speed the process up.
With a large spoon, skim
off the fat from the surface of the stock. Leaving a little is OK.
Ladle into containers and refrigerate or freeze.
Some cooks like to make chicken soup with the carcass and
remove the bones at the end. This is not for me- too much fat in the broth and
too many little bones and other unidentifiable chicken bits for my liking. I
like a nice clean stock to which I can add other ingredients.Use the stock for soup, to cook grains, to make gravy and to
add flavor to any dish that calls for water.
Chicken stock is value added to the
purchase of a whole chicken. This week, besides the roast and the stock, that
six pound chicken ended up in a curry, sandwiches and of course chicken soup,
which will feed us for several days. Oh, yes, and our dog made out as well!
See you in the kitchen,
Sue
Thanks for the tip about the onion skin, never tried that one.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the bones and bits, they do add a lot to your stock, try it and strain through cheese cloth and a strainer. Works every time for me.
I use the bones to make the stock, but I don't use the bones in my soup. I make the stock, strain the ingredients, then use the clean stock to make the soup. I agree the carcass adds a lot of flavor.
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