Fresh Chicken Stock

Stocks, in general, are pretty easy to make. Sadly, most people don't make them because they think they have to devote a whole day to the task. That's certainly true for beef stock, which takes many hours (two days is best) to extract the maximum amount of flavor from its ingredients. Simple chicken stock, however, only takes about an hour (two at most) and is really simple to put together.

You'll need:

1 fresh, whole chicken
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 leek cut in half lengthwise and then into 1 inch pieces
1 large (fat) carrot cut into half lengthwise and then into 1 inch pieces
2 celery ribs cut into 1 inch pieces
1 handful of fresh parsley and stems
10 (or so) sprigs of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 whole head of garlic cut in half
1 1/2 tsp. peppercorns, crushed
1 Tbsp. sea salt (if desired; not necessary)

Begin by butchering your chicken. Separate the legs/thighs and wings from the carcass. Then (carefully) cut the breasts from the carcass. Cut any excess fat off and make sure to pull the back skin off. Put the carcass in the pot.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and the cover with cold water until the carcass is submerged by one or two inches. The water must be cold!

Bring to a boil as quickly as possible and then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for about an hour. As soon as the stock begins to boil, you'll have to skim the insoluble particulate (grey scum) from the top of the pot a few times, so keep an eye on it. Add hot water if the volume drops to much. One hour is sufficient to make a clear and beautifully fragrant stock. If you want a darker stock, then that's another process which I'll blog about in the future.

Once cooked, cool the stock as quickly as possible (I put the pot into an ice bath to about 1/4 from the top to cool it quickly. Then strain and use or freeze in quart-sized containers for future use. The batch will yield 4 - 6 quarts, but YMMV.

You can get more volume by simply doubling (or even tripling) the ingredients, but you'll need a bigger pot and the stock will take more time. Rule of thumb is about an hour per chicken carcass.

~David