Nothing makes me feel more “Suzy Homemaker” than making homemade chicken stock. You get more stock than you can use in a given time (freezer!), it tastes so much better than what comes out of a box and, incredibly, there’s almost nothing to clean up afterwards. Throw the ingredients in a pot, turn on a movie for a few hours while it simmers, and voila: one step closer to being healthier and more homemade.
Homemade Chicken Stock
Loosely adapted from Martha Stewart
- 1 roasted chicken carcass, most of the meat removed (*Note: this chicken was leftover from Easter; I brined it overnight in buttermilk and Williams-Sonoma Apples & Spice Turkey Brine)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 6 pieces
- 1 large celery stalk, cut into 3 pieces
- 1 medium white onion, peeled cut into 4 pieces
- 3 large sprigs of parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon (at least) of other dried herbs: I used about 1/2 tsp of dried dill, 1/2 tsp dried tarragon and 1/2 tsp dried herbs de Provence (I used the herbs de Provence because I was out of dried thyme, which you can use instead)
- Combine all ingredients in a 6 qt stock pot, cover with water about an inch from the edge of the pot and bring to a fast simmer, but not a boil.
- Reduce heat to low, so that the simmer is very slow and leave uncovered for 2 hours.
- If foam appears, skim it off the surface.
- Once two hours is up, remove largest pieces of chicken and strain stock through a fine mesh sieve.
- Store in refrigerator until needed, or freeze if you won’t be using it in the next few days.
- Enjoy some tasty soups or risottos! Best of all, you don’t always have to follow a soup recipe; throwing things together into a pot at random often delivers just as tasty a meal. With the first half of this soup stock, I heated 5 cups of stock in a large pot, threw in 2 packs of ramen noodles (discarded the flavor packets), a few handfuls of sliced scallions, a few handfuls of frozen edamame, a Tablespoon or so of soy sauce and, after turning the heat off before serving, added some pre-cooked shrimp with the tails removed so they would heat up in the broth but not overcook. Voila! Asian-inspired almost-sort-of-but-not-really ramen soup that was super tasty. Just decide on the flavor profile you’re craving and go wild!