Chicken Stock

Yield: About 2 to 3 quarts of stock

Method 1: Leftover Chicken Bones

Leftover bones and skin from a cooked or raw chicken carcass

Celery (especially celery tops)

Onions

Carrot

Parsley

Salt

Pepper

Put the leftover bones and skin from a chicken carcass into a large stock pot.  Add vegetables like celery, onion, carrots, parsley.  Cover with water.  Add salt and pepper, about a teaspoon of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper. 

Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to bring the stock to barely a simmer.  Simmer partially covered at least 4 hours, occasionally skimming off any foam that comes to the surface.

Remove the bones and vegetables with a slotted spoon, and strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve.  If making stock for future use in soup, you may want to reduce the stock by simmering an hour or two longer to make it more concentrated and easier to store.

Method 2: Chicken Stock with Raw Chicken Backs, Wings, and/or Legs

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 to 5 pounds of chicken backs, wings, and/or legs, skin-on, trimmed of excess fat, hacked with a cleaver into 2-inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, quartered (no need to peel)

1 large carrot, cut into 2-inch segments

Celery tops and 1 large celery rib, cut into 2-inch segments

1 bunch of parsley

Leek or green onion greens (optional)

1 bay leaf

6 quarts of cold water

1 tablespoon salt

Coat the bottom of a large stock pot (12 quart), with olive oil.  Place half of the chicken pieces, skin side down, in the bottom of the pot.  Heat on medium high, and let cook until the chicken is browned.  Add the rest of the chicken pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is no longer pink.

Add the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, leek greens (if using), and bay leaf to the pot.  Cover with 6 quarts of cold water.  Bring to a boil on high heat and reduce to a low simmer.  If scum rises to the surface of the pot (this usually happens in the first half hour of cooking), skim off with a large metal spoon. Let cook at a low simmer, uncovered, for 4 to 6 hours.

Use a large metal spoon with holes in it to ladle out the cooked chicken and vegetables and discard. (These aren't really good to eat because, after 4 hours of cooking, all of the nutritional value has been cooked out of them.)

Use a large sieve lined with dampened cheesecloth or a dampened paper towel (or, if using a very fine mesh sieve, no need to line), and place over a large bowl or another large pot. Pour the stock through the sieve into the bowl or pot to strain out any remaining solids.  Either pour into jars at this point or, if saving for later use, boil the stock on high heat for 1 hour, to reduce it by about half.

If you are freezing, you may want to ladle off some of the excess fat on the surface (the fat helps preserve the stock in the fridge, but doesn't help it in the freezer).   If freezing, leave at least 1-inch head space, allowing enough room for the liquid stock to expand as it freezes solid.

Let the stock cool in the sealed jars completely before freezing.  Stock should last a week or so in the fridge, and several months in the freezer.

Method 3: Quick Chicken Stock

Olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

4 pounds of chicken backs, wings, and/or legs, hacked with a cleaver into 2-inch pieces

2 quarts of boiling water

2 teaspoons of salt

2 bay leaves

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large stock pot.  Add chopped onion.  Sauté until softened and slightly colored, 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl.

Add half of the chicken pieces to the pot.  Sauté until no longer pink, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Transfer cooked chicken to bowl with onions.  Sauté the rest of the chicken the same way.  Return onion and chicken pieces to the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken releases its juices, about 20 minutes.

While the chicken pieces are cooking, fill a large tea kettle with 2 quarts of water, and bring to a boil.

After the chicken pieces have been cooking for 20 minutes, raise the heat level to high, add the 2 quarts of boiling water, salt, and bay leaves.  Return to a low simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, then cover and barely simmer for about 20 minutes.

Strain stock through cheesecloth or paper towel-lined large sieve, and discard solids (it helps to remove the big pieces of bone with a slotted spoon first).  Pour into jars and let cool, before putting into the refrigerator.  Stock will last a week or so in the refrigerator or frozen for several months.

From SimplyRecipes.com