I mean, friends and family are all well and good, but chicken stock…
I shredded every morsel of flesh off that bird. Knives aren’t good enough (or maybe I should say I’M not good enough with knives?). Then I threw the broken carcass in a big pot of water so that the body is covered. Bring the water to a boil and skim off the scum before adding the leftovers of peeled and chopped vegetables past that have been sitting in wait in my freezer, and top it up with some fresh hacked carrots, onions (shallots, in this case), tomatoes and parsley. Normally I get scared by tomatoes, but I had a few that needed to be used up and stock is definitively “how to use stuff up”.
Bring the whole thing back to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and let the pot simmer for ages. I over-boil it so it becomes concentrated and takes less freezer space. So, after a few hours (you can also stick it in the slow-cooker for 8 hours on low or 4-5 on high, but the water won’t evaporate so it might not be as flavourful if you added the “proper” amount of water to begin with) take it off the heat and strain the vegetables and carcass through a fine-mesh sieve. I use tongs to take the big pieces out first because pouring chicken carcass into a sieve is a recipe for disaster. There is probably a cookbook somewhere called “Recipes For Disaster” and this is the first recipe. One day when I write my cookbook…
You can be very anal about stock or not. Ideally you want to use a cheesecloth-lined sieve and strain it AT LEAST once to get any grit or dirt out, but I still don’t have a cheesecloth. I had one once…Alas, now I’m back to using paper towel, which is wasteful since liquid is absorbed, but it does an okay job. So line a fine-mesh sieve or strainer with paper towel or a cheesecloth and pour (again) the broth through. Try to pour it in just one area of the paper towel so the next step is easier:
Ring out the paper towel. No ringing necessary with cheesecloth. Let the broth come to room temperature before putting it in the fridge. If you want to strain the fat let it sit overnight in the fridge and the fat will rise to the top and form an easily-removed layer the next day. That fat is good for you, though, it’s what actually helps you recover when you have a cold, so leaving at least a little is a good idea. Once the stock is cool you can just transfer it immediately to freezer containers, or if you have immediate soup plans, or other uses for stock in the next few days, leave it in the fridge.
There’s nothing like home-made broth, but I have this crazy habit of making it poorly. I think it’s the length of the recipes. Don’t you hate it when recipes just go on, and on, and on…
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