I shared earlier our family’s tried-and-true method for roasting a chicken the simple, non-gourmet way. Now I’ll show you the aftermath. Pretty much every single chicken that gets roasted around here gets a second (or third?) life as stock.
Alice Waters uses an entire chicken to make her stock. I think I once watched the Barefoot Contessa throw two whole birds into the pot. We are not that extravagant. Instead, we set out the stock pot and collect all of the bones and scraps as we eat our roast chicken. Actual meat does make for tastier stock, so sometimes we toss in the leftover breast meat nobody wants (we’re a dark meat kind of family). But not the skin. We throw out the skin.
The stock pot spends the night in the refrigerator. Not that this is a necessary stock-making step or anything. It’s just usually approaching bedtime at this point.
The next day, I add veggies to the pot. My usual assortment includes a carrot, a stalk of celery, an onion (with skin), a bay leaf, a pinch of salt, a few whole peppercorns, and a handful of parsley. Sometimes fennel, or thyme, or whatever else I’ve got sitting around that looks interesting. I chop in advance, collecting random veggie scraps as well, storing it all in the fridge until I’m ready to throw it over the chicken bones. Then I fill it up with water and bring it to a boil.
Once it starts to boil, this gunky foam forms on top. I skim it off. Because Alice Waters told me to.
Then I turn the heat down and let it barely simmer for as long as I can hang around the house, usually a few hours or more.
I’m not a fan of pouring really hot things into plastic containers. My chemist mom has been talking about chemicals leaching out of plastics for as long as I can remember. So I’m kind of militant about the plastics – no hot liquids, no microwaving. I strain the stock into the widest pot I can find so that it can cool down.
And there it sits until it reaches something approaching room temperature. This is a big, awkward pot – 14 inches in diameter. You can imagine that pouring the stock out of it won’t be pretty. Hmm.
Poured into plastic containers. I make a colossal mess of this. I often think to myself that I should rename this blog “The Clumsy Locavore.”
Stock in the freezer, ready for lentil soup or risotto or whatever.
And later in the week, when I’m ready to make soup, I’ll be like, oh, crap, I need to hurry up and defrost a thing of stock.
Do you make your own stock? How do you make it?
And don’t forget, Bethesda Locavore is on Facebook - come visit!
This looks so wonderful – how many meals can come from this beautiful stock? My mom too always told us not to do the same – or tomatos in cans! Who knew – they were right.
Haha. I do a lot of things because Alice Waters told me to, as well. Plus, I make a mess of my kitchen every time I cook. I really can’t understand people who don’t. Cooking is a full-contact sport for me. Great tips for stock making- you make it look easy!