Simple Stocks, Efficient Eating

So you remember how I casually mentioned to hold on to your chicken carcass last week?

It’s time to take it back out of the fridge and put it to good use.

Now, I do eat meat, but I’m not really big on killing things in general.

I’ve never been a vegetarian; I don’t feel guilt for this, but I do feel if something gave it’s life for my nourishment then the last thing I should be doing is wasting any of it.

Enter: the chicken stock.

It’s super easy. It makes use of all the parts of the chicken that might otherwise be thrown out. And you’ll be left with more chicken than you would have ever been able to carve otherwise.

Make it in bulk and it can be frozen for months. It just takes a bit of time and you need, if not a chicken carcass, then at least a bag full of bones.

The same recipe can be used to make beef stock, if you instead use t-bones or other beef bones. Or even a pork stock, if you use some ribs or something.

A vegetable stock can be made by following the same recipe and simply omitting the chicken or beef.

This is another “use-what-you-got” type recipe. Can you tell I’m a fan of those? I love making stocks at home because not only is it a really simple way to make a big difference in a lot of the food you cook, it’s a great way to make good use of produce that might be a little.. um.. well, on-the-fence? So I tend to grab a variety of things. Greens are generally safe, herbs, onions/garlic, root veggies.. take some chances.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 4 hours or more

Ingredients…

- 1 chicken carcass (some skin and meat on the bone is good)
- a few chicken bones (if you have leftover legs or wings, throw them in)
- 1-2 cup kale
- 1 cup cress
- 2 carrots
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 onion
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 1/4 cup sage
- salt
- pepper

Alright let’s go.

Put the chicken or beef pieces into a large stock pot. Fill the pot up with water so that the carcass and bones are fully submerged.

Begin heating over medium heat.

Peel garlic cloves and put them into the pot, whole.

Break or chop up carrots into smaller pieces and add them in the pot.

Add kale, cress, and herbs to the pot. Chop the half onion up and add that as well, follow with generous toss of salt and pepper.

Increase the heat on the pot and bring the water to a boil, then turn it back down to a low simmer.

Let simmer for 4 or more hours, stirring occasionally. The end result here will be the liquid stock so the longer you cook it, the more water will evaporate and the more concentrated your stock will be. If you cover it, it will cook longer.. but if you leave it uncovered the wonderful smell of it will permeate your house more thoroughly.

Once it’s done, strain all the liquid out into a large bowl. Incidentally, now’s the best time to get any last chicken left on the bones because it will all come off very easily. The joints will all be dissolving here and the meat will just fall off the bone. Usually there’s enough here for a salad or two, or maybe a couple sandwiches.

Let the liquid cool in the bowl for awhile, and then you’ll need to store it. I usually use a combination of mason jars and ice cube trays. The ice cube trays get filled with stock, frozen, and then you can keep them in a zip loc bag in the freezer for a nice, long time. The mason jars get put in the fridge.. they’re good for about a week – because of this short lifespan I tend to freeze most of it and just use the jars for one or two meals I’m already planning that week.

Chicken, beef, and vegetable stock can be used in soups and in just about anything that can be cooked in water. Simply substitute the water for your stock. I like using it to cook rice or couscous, even pasta sometimes. I’m sure there are many more uses that I’ve never thought of.

Do you have any favorite uses or recipes for your stock?

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