I had no idea how simple making a delicious chicken stock is until this past year. I also had no idea how much dimension and life a homemade chicken stock breathes in to ANY dish.
The basic stock formula calls for a few onions, some carrots, some celery, sprigs of thyme, a handful of peppercorns, and some type of chicken meat/chicken bone.
Stock utilizes all the kitchen scraps you usually throw away. I have a giant ziplock bag that I take out every time I cook. When I have onion ends, or skins, or celery tops and carrot butts, I put them in the bag. I leave the bag in the freezer until I'm ready to make another batch of stock. I also put the carcass from any chicken I roast in that bag.
The first few times I made stock, I used only the aforementioned scrap bag. The stock turned out tasty enough, but lacked a certain "chickenness" I desired. I asked a few people what I should do about the prevalent veggie taste in my stock. Chicken necks and chicken backs are the answer. At your local supermarket (or at mine, anyways), there are always chicken necks and chicken backs for sale. The necks are less than a dollar a pound and the backs are about a dollar a pound. They build the chicken flavor in your stock and create a heavenly velvet finish.
First take your chicken necks or backs, put them in your largest stock pot, just barely cover with water. Let the chicken parts sit in the water for 30 minutes.
Get your vegetable scraps ready. If you have no scraps, use two large onions, a carrot or two and a few ribs of celery. Cut them up into hunks. They don't have to be chopped particularly well, they're going to get all the flavor boiled out of them and become a great addition to your compost. A rule of thumb: one part celery and carrots to four parts onion. Add a couple sprigs of thyme and twelve peppercorns.
Add water until everything is covered.
Bring water to a boil. As soon as it boils, lower heat. Simmer, partially covered, for 3-8 hours.
Some people like to skim the fat off of their stock. I don't. It acts as a protective layer between the stock and bacteria.
When the stock simmers to my liking, I strain it into a giant bowl where I let it cool. Then I put it in tightly sealed containers and store it in my freezer. It lasts for up to three months. Any time you need to use it, you can put the frozen block in a double boiler, directly in a pot on low heat, in the fridge, if you're a good planner, or you can even melt it in the sink under a stream of running warm water.
I swear, once you eat chicken noodle soup with your homemade stock, you will never consider boxed stock again. Homemade chicken stock adds oomph to any and every chicken dish. It's also a great way to recycle veggie trash. And it's ridiculously cheap.
Give it a whirl.
Chicken and Yellow Rice,
Trixi
