Chicken Stock

One thing that most good cooks know is that a delicious homemade chicken stock is always going to taste better than any store bought stock and can be the magic ingredient/flavor enhancer to many recipes. Since I've been carving up so many chickens for lunches, I am left with a lot of chicken bones. Rather than throw them away, I freeze the carcasses and leg bones until I have 3-4 chickens worth and then make stock.

For any basic chicken stock, you will need chicken bones, onion, carrot, and celery or fennel. I am not very fond of celery. I think it is rather bland, stringy, and never keep it in my kitchen. I have found that fennel bulbs can replace celery in almost every recipe (except maybe Thanksgiving stuffing where I tend to add both). Fennel has a mild licorice flavor that is slightly sweet and just as aromatic as celery, and tends to become even more subtle as it cooks. Don't be afraid. I use the white part of the bulb in most recipes and save fennel tops in the freezer to add to the stockpot when I have enough chicken bones.

So, the vegetables get chopped into quarters and added to a large stockpot with the chicken bones, about a teaspoon of salt, and enough water to just barely cover everything. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a very low simmer. When the stock comes to a boil, a brown scum starts to collect on the surface. I usually skim off most of it, but don't worry about getting it all. Once the stock up to temperature, cover and let it simmer for 3-4 hours. When it is done, the carrots have turned to mush and any meat left on the bones has no flavor left.

I use a large slotted spoon to remove all the bones and bigger pieces of vegetable from the stockpot, then bring to a boil to reduce the volume by about a third to make a more concentrated stock. You will have to taste it to determine if you need to do this. I usually like to use less stock in my recipes and dilute with water if necessary. When you have the volume and strength of stock that you desire, strain the stock through a sieve into clean canning jars and cap tightly. You should have a beautiful golden-brown stock with a little fat floating on top. The fat will harden, protect the stock from spoiling, and can easily be scooped out before using. Let the jars cool on the counter top overnight then refridgerate or freeze until you're ready to use them. If you add the stock to the jars while it is still almost boiling hot, it will sterilize the jars and create a small vacuum as it cools.

Now, in most recipes, I only want a couple tablespoons of stock as liquid (instead of adding water!) so I like to make a couple trays of ice cubes out of a portion of the stock and a couple jars for soups. The Danes have invented these insanely cool ice cube bags that are great for freezing stock. There is a self-sealing valve at the top of the bag that allows you to pour in liquid that won't seep out when you lay the bags on their sides. They're so awesome that I'm planning to bring a couple of them back to the States with me whenever I leave this country.