Chicken Stock

You will often find chicken carcasses in the meat section at your supermarket. I usually purchase 3-4 at a time and if I am not going to make stock that day I will freeze them so I have them at hand for when I do need to make it. You can take the carcasses straight from the freezer and place in simmering water.

I quite often make chicken stock after roasting a chicken. I will use the carcasses that I have roasted and add 1 kg of fresh chicken wings which I usually purchase when on special and freeze them for this occasion. On special you can usually pick-op the chicken wings for about $5.00-$6.00 per/kg.

Ingredients

2-3           chicken carcasses
6              garlic cloves cut in half
1              teaspoon whole pepper corns (about 6-8)
1              onion cut in half
4              celery sticks cut into chunky pieces
2              large carrots chopped into chunky pieces
4              bay fresh leaves
3              sprigs of fresh rosemary
4              sprigs of fresh parsley
3              sprigs of fresh thyme
3-5lts       cold water
salt to taste

Directions

Place the chicken carcasses, garlic, vegetables, herbs and peppercorns in a large soup or stock saucepan. Add the cold water and bring to the boil. Once it is boiling turn down to a simmer.

Continue to simmer gentle heat for 3-4 hours, skimming the oils off the top as necessary. When the stock has been simmering for 3-4 hours turn off the heat then pass the stock through a fine sieve or several layers of mutton cloth to remove the ingredients.

Allow to cool for about 2 hours, then refrigerate. Once the stock is cold it should look clear and slightly amber in colour. At this point I skim off any fats and oils that have solidified on the top. I usually divide it into small plastic containers at this point and freeze it. It will keep in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days and in the freezer for 2-3 months.