Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe
Ingredients
1/4 cup vegetable oil
About 4 lb of farm-fresh chicken necks, backs, or bones you’ve already eaten the meat off of (throw a whole chicken in the mix if you want soft, boiled meat to add to other dishes like pasta or rice)
4 cups chopped yellow onions
2 cups chopped, peeled carrots
Handful of parsley sprigs
1 tablespoon fresh or dried thyme
4 bay leaves
(Makes 3 quarts of stock)
Directions
- Heat the oil over high heat until almost smoking and add chicken (don’t forget to pat the chicken with a towel to remove any droplets of water or blood, since it will splash in the hot oil). Toss and turn until browned.
- Add chopped onions and carrots and stir frequently until vegetables begin to lose their crunch.
- Add remaining ingredients. Add enough water to cover the solids by 2 inches. Bring to boil and reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Cool the stock a little and pour through strainer over a bowl. Use a spoon to press against chicken and vegetable to squeeze out as many nutrients and flavor as possible. You can use this mixture again (albeit with less water) to make more stock. Add fresh herbs if desired
- Cover the stock and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove any hardened fat.
Heather is a freelance writer and the resident blogger for collegescholarships.org, an informational website offering tips about college scholarship programs.
Image Credits:
Matzo Ball Soup. Creative Commons photo by sa_ku_ra
Chicken. Creative Commons photo by skuds
Chicken Stock. Creative Commons photo by merelymel
