Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 whole fresh chicken or leftover chicken parts
5-6 quarts water (This may vary with the size of your pot. A bit more or less doesn’t matter all that much, since you can reduce the stock to the intensity level you want, anyway).
Vegetable and herb trimmings (such as ends from onions, cores and scraps from bell peppers, celery leaves, herb stems, asparagus throwaway stalks ends, fennel leaves, etc.)
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Directions: |
Directions:We like to use a stock pot that has a pasta liner. (You know, the liner with the holes on the bottom half you can pull out of the water in the pot). Obviously, put the chicken and vegetables in the removable liner, and heat to boiling.
Reduce heat to medium simmering.
After half an hour, remove the chicken (if you used a whole chicken or are going to use the meat from the parts) and let it cool. (Remember, don't overcook the chicken.) Return the liner to the pot with all of the vegetables in it.
Let the stock reduce for another hour if you have the time.
Drain the water trapped in the vegetables back into the stock and you can then throw them away.
You can reduce the stock more to intensify the flavor if you like, even reduce it to demi-glace consistency.
Two things to remember: Unless you put salt (and pepper) in the stock, it will taste pretty bland in comparison to store bought stock. Tasting is the best way to adjust these amounts. You don’t have to add a tenth of the salt the processors do, though, to get the same degree of taste, (so go easy and "taste"). (That’s worth a lot right there, as far as we’re concerned). Try it, you’ll see!
Let the stock stand in the refrigerator overnight if you are not going to use it right away and you can skim all of the fat right off the top. If you are going to cook with it right away, use one of those de-fatter pitchers where the spout is attached to the bottom. The fat will rise to the top and you can pour the stock without getting hardly any of the fat with it. |
This recipe for Homemade Italian Chicken Stock is from