Moving right along...
Making your own chicken stock from scratch may sound like an unnecessary undertaking, but it really is much simpler than you think. It takes some time, but not much skill or work. Now, here at Brave New Kitchen, we are certainly not stock snobs. I won't tell you that it is blasphemy to use premade stock out of a box or can. I use that stuff all the time. It is a great time saver when you will be adding plenty of other flavors and ingredients to the dish.
However, when you are making something like chicken soup or anything that will take most of its flavor from the stock, it's worth taking the extra time to make it at home. It will have a much broader depth of flavor than the one-note liquid from a box. Plus, you will have more control over the flavor profile of the end product.
Please use the bold section titles I've created. otherwise, this is a massive post to read through in one go. Another warning: This post contains gratuitous use of the word carcass. Do not be afraid. Carcass. Get used to it. Caaarcaaass. See... everything will be all right.
Stock vs. Broth
First, lets go over the difference between stock and broth. Basically, a stock is made from bones and connective tissue cooking in liquid. Chicken feet are commonly used to make traditional stock. A broth is a liquid in which meat has been cooked. Both are flavorful, but a stock has true body to it. (Thanks to the legendary Alton Brown for this quick summary, Good Eats 2: The Middle Years
.) Due to the gelatinous materials in bones and joints, a stock may even thicken and become similar to jello when cooled. Think of what gelatin was made from - the collagen in animal bones such as horses, pigs and cows. Home cooks will almost never need to make a true stock - that's mainly for restaurants and commercial use and frequently takes three days to make properly. We can, however, make what I call "Stock +." We are making stock, but there will be meat cooking in there along with the bones and other tissues. No chicken feet (unless you really want them).
If you make these stock recipes with a raw chicken, you will create white stock, which is a more plain and clean stock in flavor. If you use a cooked chicken (my preference), the resulting stock is called brown stock and has more of a deep, roasted flavor.
An Easy Way to Make Chicken Stock, or "Stock +"
I usually make stock and, consequently, chicken soup after buying a rotisserie chicken from the store. Any time you cook or eat a whole chicken, freeze the leftover carcass with whatever meat is still attached in a large, freezer safe zip-top bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. You can also just make chicken stock a day or two later and omit the need to freeze the chicken. Don't leave cooked chicken in the refrigerator longer than 3-4 days. Frozen, the cooked chicken will be safe to eat for about 4 months. Scroll to the end of this post for a chicken soup recipe using your homemade stock.
Ingredients:
Leftover chicken carcass (bones, meat, connective tissue, skin, whatever is on there)
2 bay leaves
4-5 fresh thyme sprigs (can be omitted if you don't have any on hand)
Fresh parsley bunch
1 stalk celery, chopped (optional, I don't use it)
Water
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1/2 tablespoon whole peppercorns (if you don't have whole, omit and just season the stock after it is made)
Method:
Be sure to rinse the chicken first to remove any extra seasonings. Drop everything into a large stock pot. Don't dice any ingredients too small. You want everything in large pieces for easy straining later. No need to take apart the chicken pieces, either. Add enough water to just cover the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, drop the heat to low and make sure the stock is just simmering. Simmer 6-8 hours, uncovered. Add more water if the ingredients start to show above the water line. You want everything to stay just barely covered by water.
Afterward, strain everything into another pot. Discard all solid ingredients except the chicken carcass - set that aside to cool. Bacteria are attracted to stock, so bring the temperature down as quickly as possible by putting the now-strained pot of stock in a sink with ice water along the bottom. Once it is mostly cooled (it doesn't have to be cold), cover it and put in the fridge to keep. You can transfer the cooled stock into tupperware if you prefer. Don't put hot stock in the fridge or it will ruin everything else you have in there by increasing the temperature in the fridge!
Shred the chicken off the carcass and put it in a sealed container in the fridge for later use - chicken soup, chicken sandwiches, chicken on a salad, etc. Throw out the bones and skin since those have given up all of their flavor.
After refrigeration, you will find that fat congeals at the stock's surface. You can skim this fat off to make your stock a bit healthier. It won't alter the flavor much. Season the stock when you use it. That way, you can add salt and pepper according to the application.
1-Hour Stock
Short on time or just don't want to be confined to your home for 6-8 hours? Then, here is a 1-hour stock recipe adapted from Mark Bittman's book, How to Cook Everything: The Basics
.Ingredients:
1 whole 3-4 lb chicken, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup roughly chopped onion, no need to peel
1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup roughly chopped celery
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Fresh parsley springs
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 quarts water
Method:
If raw, cut the chicken into pieces to speed up the cooking process. Combine all ingredients into a stock pot. Bring to a boil, then partially cover and lower to a simmer (just a few bubbles breaking the surface). Cook until the chicken is done, about 30-40 minutes. Cooked chicken has an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Strain liquid, pressing on the meat and vegetables to draw out as much liquid as possible. Taste and add salt as needed. Let cool, then refrigerate and skim any fat that hardens. Freeze if you won't use it within 4 days. You can keep the cooked chicken for later use.
What Can I Do With My Stock?
The obvious choice here is chicken soup, any variety (of which there are probably hundreds, if not thousands). You can also use it to make risotto, gravy, pot pie, any other type of soup, sauces, in rice instead of water, couscous, stuffing and for basting roasts.
Simple Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
Homemade stock
Cooked rice or noodles
Vegetables of your choosing (onion, carrot, potato, etc.)
Parsley, thyme or other herbs of your choosing
Cooked chicken
Salt & Pepper to taste
Basically, drop everything into the stock according to how long they take to cook (so potatoes would go in first, for example). Bring to a boil, then simmer until all ingredients are cooked and hot. Season to taste.
Cook your rice before adding it to the stock or it will absorb most of the liquid, leaving you with something more closely resembling stew. The same is true if you are using noodles. They won't absorb the stock, but boiling the stock for such a long time to cook the noodles may evaporate all that lovingly extracted liquid.
Variations: You can add cilantro, jalapeno, diced avocado, a squeeze of lime juice and tortilla strips to make a Mexican-style chicken soup. Use ginger, soba noodles, diced red bell pepper, snow peas, lime juice and scallion for an Asian-style chicken soup. Use cilantro, lime, a dash of fish sauce, lemongrass, ginger, cumin and a seeded Thai chile for a Thai-style chicken soup. The possibilities are endless, so just do some Googling and I'm sure you'll find some great inspiration.
Happy cooking! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @BraveNewKitchen.
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