The Garden Gate Recipe Collection
Chicken Bone Stock...
I'm a huge fan of our bone stocks! Besides providing their magnificent health benefits of vitamins, minerals and omegas, they create the actual base for the vast majority of our soups...so, let's learn the basics!
Chicken Bone Stock starts here...
Soups were born out of a need for healthy economical food, and often would utilize the parts of the animals that weren't dinner worthy...I can remember, back before the birth of Buffalo Wings, where the wings were actually considered sutiable for soup, only. That was...well, over a half century ago...times, they have changed! The best soup worthy bargain on the grocery store, today, is the 10# bag of leg/thigh quarters, that sometimes come for as low a 49 cents a pound! another plus with the leg quarters is the ultimate depth of flavor that comes from the dark meat.
For a light stock, simply add the chicken pieces, uncooked, to the pot.
For a deep rich stock, par bake the chicken quarters (or whatever you're using) in a hot oven, on a foil lined sheet pan, sprayed with non stick spray. Season the chicken generously with kosher salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder and oregano or thyme...or both. If you're going Italian, throw some rosemary sprigs onto the pan. Roast for 40 minutes , then transfer to your soup pot, drippings and all. All that gooey sticky stuff...pure flavor! Scrape it all into the pot.
Add the aromatics...
These are your vegetables...always add onions (I like to use yellow skinned, leaving the outer skin on for the color it gives to our stock) and celery stalks and leaves, a few carrots in large chunks and a full head of garlic. Of course, this could be a good opportunity to clear out the vegetable crisper drawer, too! If you've got fennel remnants, go ahead and add them; parsnips, leeks, scallions.
Cover with 2 to 3 quarts of water, depending on the size of your pot. We always add Knorr bouillon to our stock, for a flavor bump. One teaspoon per cup for a super richly flavored stock. And, although we added onions and garlic, we fortify the flavor with the granulated variety. Herbs, like bay, thyme, sage oregano may be added, and a palmful of peppercorns is a must! And a good sprinkling of Kosher or sea salt!
Simmer down!
Bring everything to a boil over high heat. As soon as it reaches temperature, reduce heat to simmer. Skim the impurities (scum) as it rises to the surface and discard. Cover the pot and let it simmer for an hour. If you're cooking the stock for a chicken soup recipe and want to use the meat for in the soup, take the pieces out now, and let them get cool enough to handle. Take the meat off the bones and put the bones back into the soup pot and keep simmering. Let the goodness in the bones be absorbed into the stock.
After several hours, your stock will have reduced by about a third. Strain the stock into a large bowl or second pot. Let the fat rise to the surface and skim it off. You can store this liquid gold (it's called schmaltz, and is sold in all the better Jewish deli's) for making a roux for gravies or as the fat content in your dumplings. Keep refrigerated. Or, you can just discard the fat...it's your call.
If you're planning to store the broth long term, leave the fat alone. It will rise to the surface in the storage container and form a puck, which will act as a natural seal, and keeps the stock good even longer than it would, naturally (about 5 days, refrigerated; 6 months frozen)