DIY: Chicken Stock

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PUT DOWN THAT SWANSON'S BOX OF BROTH! Seriously. Let me see both of your hands. Okay. Good.

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

 

DIY: The Miracle that is Red Sauce

I've looked through all the cookbooks I have (a paltry 13. I never know which ones to buy when confronted with the decision!) and consulted the mighty internet, but I cannot come up with a consistent definition of marinara.

The general consensus defines marinara as a tomato sauce containing a hearty amount of vegetables, whether they be onions or bell peppers, carrots or celery, I find no specifics. Marinara must also have herbs, mostly basil. Tomato sauce on the other hand, lacks any additional veggies or herbs. Just some salt and pepper.

So, today I want to show you how easy making Red Sauce (eh, you like that?) is. I made an incredibly delicious Red Sauce with things I already had in my pantry. And so can you! 

I make a habit of buying canned tomatoes every time I'm at the grocery store. The more I cook, the more I notice how often canned tomatoes come in handy. For my Red Sauce I used a giant can of crushed tomatoes, but you can use any you have, as long as they have some sort of juice or puree in them.

Other things I noticed in my kitchen worthy of belonging in this sauce: a white onion, dried porcini mushrooms, bacon, garlic, red pepper flakes and rosemary.

I took the porcini mushrooms, put them in one cup of hot hot water to reconstitute them. The first time I ever had to reconstitute mushrooms, I was told to leave them in the water until the felt soft. No time frame. I left them in the water for five minutes. They were not reconstituted. The mushroom tartlets I made turned out hard and chewy. Let the mushrooms steep for up to 30 minutes. Even then, check the tenderness, remove any tough stems. 

Next, I heated up a splash of olive oil in my large casserole over medium-high heat. Once the oil began to bubble, I dropped in the four strips of bacon I'd chopped into little bits.

I cooked the bacon until it began to crisp and brown, stirring diligently to prevent burning. When the bacon turned golden, I added the onions and rosemary.

I sauteed the onions until they turned translucent. When their edges began to turn golden, I dropped in a handful of garlic. Garlic is incredibly sensitive to heat and will burn faster than you realize. Keep garlic to the outside of your veggies, so it comes in minimal contact with the burner heat. After about thirty seconds, I added a dash of red pepper flakes.

I added one 35 oz can of crushed tomatoes, the reconstituted porcini mushrooms and the mushroom broth (juice?). 

I then stirred and simmered until the sauce thickened (about 35 minutes).

And now I have a whole bunch of delicious Red Sauce in my refrigerator! Actually, I have one container in my refrigerator, expressly for the lasagna I plan on showing you how to make later. The rest I froze. It thaws in no time and is delicious on pizza, pasta, some vegetables, anything! See how easy that was? Add more, add less. You can make homemade red sauce in barely any time at all. And if you want to make pasta, you can just boil the pasta straight in the sauce, for an extra rich and delicious noodle.

Happy eating!

Kit and Kat,

Trixi