Over the past few years, I've experimented with making more and more things from scratch... but until recently, I had never made my own chicken stock. I decided about two months ago that that was going to change! Inspired by a method on "Our Best Bites," I used a rotisserie chicken carcass to make some truly delicious chicken stock. I plan on doing this once a month for, oh, the rest of my life! I don't know if I can go back to bullion cubes!
I tweaked the original method a little bit. Here is how I did it:
Ingredients:
1 rotisserie chicken carcass, picked clean of meat (I picked all the meat off and then used it in meals throughout the rest of the week)
1 medium onion
1 potato
A few cloves of garlic, peeled
Fresh ground pepper, coarse
LOTS of coarse salt
Rosemary, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, basil (and really, whatever spices you feel like!)
Water
In large stock pot, place chicken carcass, root vegetables, and seasonings. (Don't skimp on the salt... and plan on adding still more later. I had Mahon periodically taste the stock, and he kept adding a ton!) Fill pot with water until your water depth is about 3 inches over the chicken. Bring to a boil on high heat, then turn to low and cover. Simmer at least 3 hours (I tasted mine after about 2 and then added more salt and spices) or until broth is a rich golden color and has lots of flavor. (Note: I usually start mine in the morning and leave it on all day. The longer it simmers, the more nutrients and rich flavor it has!)
Strain all ingredients through a colander. I got about 20 cups of stock out of this! To store it, I froze it in various containers—one that held about a quart (I later used that big container to make chicken noodle soup) and several pint-sized freezer jam containers. I also filled three ice cube trays with stock, let them freeze, and then transferred the stock cubes to a ziploc freezer bag. Each cube was about 1/8 cup, and they were GREAT for anytime I needed a cup or less of stock—I could just pull out a few cubes and let them melt in whatever I was making!
Strain all ingredients through a colander. I got about 20 cups of stock out of this! To store it, I froze it in various containers—one that held about a quart (I later used that big container to make chicken noodle soup) and several pint-sized freezer jam containers. I also filled three ice cube trays with stock, let them freeze, and then transferred the stock cubes to a ziploc freezer bag. Each cube was about 1/8 cup, and they were GREAT for anytime I needed a cup or less of stock—I could just pull out a few cubes and let them melt in whatever I was making!
Just wondering if you've seen this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/03/30/monday-mission-how-to-make-your-own-homemade-chicken-stockbroth/
She soaks the bones (well, she uses the whole chicken, but she uses it for the bones) in vinegar for 5 minutes before she starts to get some of the minerals out of the bones. interesting. :)