I used to make my own chicken stock all the time, and suddenly I stopped making any for the longest time! Why, plain laziness! Making your own chicken stock is really easy, but you need to plan ahead as it takes a few hours, about 3 to 4 hours, to simmer the stock until the amount is reduced and the full flavour is achieved. All the ingredients are cut to big chunks and it does not really take much time to do that. When the stock is ready, you would need to strain it over a fine sieve, let the stock cool down, then store the stock in containers, label them, and freeze, if you are not using them immediately. Before you decide how much stock you intend to make, make sure that your stockpot is big enough and that your freezer has enough of storage space!! It is no fun, at the end of the day, you find that your freezer cannot accommodate all those stock, and got to use them up within a few days. Or you can always send them my way! Haha!
Once the stock has come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 4 hours! Be patient!
You'll be rewarded! My batch of chicken stock, using Ina Garten's recipe.
Notice the layer of fat at the top of the stock? You may remove them before freezing the stock, but I prefer to freeze them as they are, and only remove them when they are partially thawed, it is easier to remove the fat that way. I have 16 containers and freeze 14 of them.
I reserved one container which I left overnight in the fridge (not freezer), and the next day, I skimmed off the fat and freeze them in ice-cubes containers, once they are frozen solid, remove them and store in zip-log bag for uses which requires a tablespoon or so of stock.
There's one container which I left in the fridge (not frozen) for three days (yeah, I got side-tracked and did not use it as I intended to!). Though it cannot be seen clearly from the photo above, the stock actually turned gel-like. Not to worry! This means that this is good stock! The collagen from the chicken bones is what makes the stock to turn gel-like, and this is natural, and only happens to rich, well-made chicken stock! Yipee..! And once the stock is heated, the gel will dissolve and it will turn liquid once again.
Don't forget that label! A number of times I find myself with a few unlabeled containers and wondering what was that! And did you know that most frozen stuffs have almost or no signs of any smell at all, eer... don't ask me how I know! Haha! I thought I would remember but then.....getting old I guess!! I have learnt my lesson! Now I label everything...with the exception of that few containers in my freezer, which I am still wondering, only way to know is to defrost them.... but then I've got to use them up after I defrosted them. Guess I've got to "spring-clean" my freezer soon!
Try to use the frozen stock within 3 months, I have kept mine longer than that (when I used to make my old batch of stocks before this), and they were fine. This photo was actually an old photo I took ages ago from my previous stock-making, the rest of the photos above are all current ones, taken on that day indicated on the labels.
When was the last time you've made your own chicken stock?
When was the last time you've made your own chicken stock?
Chicken Stock
(makes 6 quarts)
(adapted from Barefoot Contessa)
3 (5-pound) roasting chickens
3 large yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered
6 carrots, unpeeled and halved
4 stalks celery with leaves, cut into thirds
4 parsnips, unpeeled and cut in half (optional) (did not use this)
20 sprigs fresh parsley (replaced with 2 bay leaves)
15 sprigs fresh thyme
20 sprigs fresh dill (did not use this)
1 head garlic, unpeeled and cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
Place the chicken, onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley, thyme, dill, garlic and seasonings in a 16 to 20-quart stockpot. Add 7 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours. Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander and discard the solids. Chill the stock overnight. The next day, remove the surface fat. Use immediately or pack in containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
my notes :
I've used a mixture of 3-1/2kg of chicken wings and meaty chicken bones (free-range chicken), as I feel that using 3 chickens of 5-pounds each (about 7-1/2kg in total) is too much, and it will be a waste of chicken meat. Of course, you can always find ways of using all that meat, but the meat will be all too soft and mushy.
I have omitted the parsnips. And have replaced the fresh parsley with 2 bay leaves instead. Use half the amount of fresh thyme and did not use any dill, as I really wanted a chicken stock with no strong smell or taste of herbs, since I'll be using it for various cooking. I peeled the carrots but left the onions and garlic unpeeled, make sure they are washed clean. I used 1 tablespoon of fine sea salt, not too much salt, since the stock will be used for various cooking.
Once the stock comes to a boil, lower heat, and keep covered, simmered for 3 hours, and the last hour, I kept the lid ajar (about 1/4 open gap). The recipe states that to simmer the stock uncovered for 4 hours. I have always make my chicken stock, simmered with the pot covered, I guess old habits die hard!
I've got 5 quarts of stock, which I store in plastic containers, each container is a little over 1 cup capacity (total 16 containers). I did not skim off the fat accumulated at the top layer, preferring to directly freeze as it is once it has cooled down, and remove the fat only when I partially thaw the stock, as it will be easier to remove when the fat is partially frozen.
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