You ask: Why make chicken stock from scratch? Well, put simply, you cannot make any decent bowl of soup from a canned broth. Beside the obvious taste difference, homemade chicken stock contains the gelatin (essentially concentrated proteins), derived mainly from bones and cartilage, which imparts a rich, silky texture to true stocks and broths. Our recipe has the added bonus of giving you a whole cooked chicken, which can be used for salad or any other use. It’s worth the investment.
Full-Flavored Chicken Stock:
In this stock version, a whole chicken is used. You may, after the first hour, remove the flavored meat from the carcass and reserve for another use (perhaps, Curried Chicken Salad), then return the carcass to the pot and continue cooking. Or, just leave the whole bird in and let everything simmer for the full time.
Makes about 2 quarts
1 (4 to 5 pound) whole chicken, without giblets
1 tablespoon salt?
2 medium onions, quartered?
2 carrots, chopped?
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 sprigs parsley
2 bay leaves
5 black peppercorns
Place all ingredients in a large pot. Fill with 3 quarts cold water or enough to cover the chicken. Bring the water almost to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low. Simmer partially covered for 1 hour, skimming off any foam or scum that rises.
Remove the chicken and pick off the meat. Return the carcass to pot. Simmer uncovered another 1 to 1-1/2 hours. (Or, continue to simmer the whole bird, meat and all.)
When the stock is cool enough to work with, strain it through cheesecloth (or a fine-mesh sieve or strainer), first pressing the solids to extract as much juice as possible and then discarding the carcass, herbs, and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Can be refrigerated (covered in an airtight container) for up to 3 days, or frozen for 3-6 months. Fat will congeal on the surface when cold, which actually helps preserve the stock; remove and discard it before use. Prior to use, bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.
Variation– Chicken Stock from Bones & Pieces: Instead of a whole chicken, substitute 5 to 6 pounds chicken wings, backs, ribs, and other bony parts (including feet if you can find them). Simmer continuously for 2 hours.
Bonus for Dog Lovers: If you have a dog it will love the remaining scraps and crumbly bones put through a blender or food processor to make a nutritious chicken mush for addition to the daily dose of humdrum dry food.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I am very health conscious, single and want to watch my carbs, the options I have below work very well to satisfy your appetite while keeping the pounds away. Guys like the soup too!
The health conscious part includes throwing in an entire head of garlic, an entire peeled onion, which I cut in half, and an entire bunch of parsley. For the garlic, I remove most of the paper that comes loose from the head, cut off the top and bottom and throw the entire thing in there. I always use chunky sea salt which has a better mineral content for the body.
Once broth is done, I discard all the veggies, etc., and shred the chicken (which I keep in separate container).
To serve: Once the broth and chicken are hot, pour it into individual bowls and go one of two ways.
ITALIAN: Top the soup with fresh lemon juice (usually 1/2 lemon per bowl), chopped flat leaf Italian parsley (be generous) and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
LATIN: If I am in a Latin mood, which I have been a lot these days (wink, wink), I top with fresh lime juice (1/2 lime per bowl), chopped cilantro, chopped avocado, and chopped scallion.
If you want to beef it up a bit, you can always add brown rice. When I do brown rice (organic short grain), I make a big pot of it on Sundays to use all week. When I start it I add a bullion cube (porcini mushroom, chicken, or veggie). For a quick out the door to work lunch, the rice is also good with some of the shredded chicken.
Enjoy the soup(s)!! They are so YUMMY!! Enjoy ~Katherine
My family is not big on cutting around bones, so why waste them? I make quick work of boning the breast, and throw the breast bone, back, wing tips, thigh bones and skin into a bag in the freezer when I serve chicken or turkey breast for dinner. When I have 4 or 5 chicken’s worth, I carmelize some onions and carrots in a stockpot, add water, herbs and the frozen bones, turn on the heat, and three hours later, I have chicken broth. I freeze it in pint-sized plastic freezer containers so I always have stock for soup or as a base for sauce.
SG