Homemade Chicken Stock

I did it.

Ever since being bitten by the food bug, I have been wondering how difficult it would be to make my own stock.  Or broth.  Whatever you want to call it, I wanted to make it.  I wanted to make it so bad that I started saving my veggie scraps in a freezer bag.  Celery tops and ends, carrot peels, carrot ends, the green stems of green onions and leeks, green pepper ends-- just about anything was fair game to be saved in the Veggie Scrap Bag.  I even forced myself to save the carcass of a roast chicken in a freezer bag, too.  "This is what good cooks do," I told myself.  "This will help us save a ton of money when I go to make a soup again," I continued.   

But I was scared.

Looking back, hearing (er, I mean, seeing) myself say those words sounds ridiculous.  Literally, it was as easy as throwing a bunch of saved-up kitchen scraps, adding water, and boiling the b'jesus out of it for several hours.  Researching the various methods of making your own stock led me to believe that it would not only be time-consuming, but "involved."   I read articles that mentioned unfamiliar items like "cheesecloth," and shuddered.  I'm such a sissy when it comes to trying something new!  My Mom would attribute this anxiety to my life-long affliction of perfectionism-on-the-first-try syndrome.  She's probably right. 

But yesterday, I decided enough was enough.  The Mr. was having oral surgery-- and post-surgical care included a liquid diet for the rest of the day after being released.  This was the push I needed to venture into unknown cooking land.  I couldn't, in good conscience, just warm up a can of chicken broth for him to eat when I had been learning so much about homemade stock. 

So without further ado, I did it.   It was time-consuming, but it wasn't even a little-bit tricky or involved.  I have no formal recipe to share-- more like a list of ingredients; vague, coresponding amounts; and the steps I took.  But I have to tell you (like all the others told me), there's really not a whole lot to it.  If I can do it using scraps and absolutely no experience, ANYONE can do it. 

Ingredients:

• the carcass of a roasted chicken--Using a piece of advice from my Step-Mom, I broke the bones of the chicken carcass in half. Doing this exposes the marrow, which is where all the good stuff hides.
• a Veggie Scrap Bag-- this is a gallon-sized plastic zipper bag, and it was full
• 6 quarts of cold water
• Salt (maybe 1 tsp?)
• Pepper (maybe 1/2 tsp?)
• Dried herbs-- several shakes of each, enough to cover the top of the water.
• Parsley
• Sage
• Thyme
• 3-4 chicken bouillon cubes

Directions:

First, I thawed my Veggie Scrap Bag and chicken bones.

Next, I broke up the bones a little bit from the chicken scraps. 

Then I tossed the bones, veggie scraps, water, salt, pepper, herbs, and bouillon into a big stock pot (mine is a 10-quart stock pot, and there was plenty of room).

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer this way (uncovered) for at least 2 hours.  As you check on it, remove any fats/foamy gunk that forms on the top by skimming with a spoon.  Some recipes will tell you to simmer for up to 24 hours.  I don't have that kind of patience, and as I was impatiently waiting for my own stock, I noticed after 2 hours it started to taste more like a stock and less like herb-flavored water.

Here was the hardest part, and probably the part that has the most variety when reading other recipes--after you have simmered to satisfaction,  you have to strain it:

• To do this, I placed my large collander into my Dutch oven.  In the beginning, I ladled out the bigger chunks into the collander, and eventually poured the stock through the collander. I drained it and threw away the scraps. 

• Then, to get some of the smaller scraps/particles, I poured the stock through a wire-mesh strainer and back into the stock pot.

 

• At this point, I felt victorious.  Because not only did it SMELL like stock, but it TASTED like it, too!  I loved it and I poured a bowl of it for The Mr.

 
He wasn't much for talking-- what with the surgery and all-- but all I heard from the living room was the scrape of spoon against bowl.   That was enough for me.