Homemade Chicken Stock
a.k.a Liquid Gold
Many recipes call for the addition of chicken stock for a flavor boost over just water. It’s readily available to buy at your local grocery store, but making your own is something everyone should do at least once to taste the difference.
The recipes for chicken stock reflect the different ways I make stock. Chicken Stock #1 is a good all around chicken stock. It’s got enough flavor to add to your recipes, but not so much that it would over power a delicate sauce. Chicken Stock #2 is a bit more bold. Browning the chicken and vegetables before adding the liquid gives this stock more depth. This stock makes a heartier soup or sauce when a bolder flavor is needed. I start with carrot, celery and onions, and sometimes throw in a few mushrooms. One of the secrets I learned from a chef was to use some already made stock as part of the liquid to add depth. These recipes call for 1 qt. of stock and 2 qts. water. Purchased is fine for this base stock.
After the stock has been refrigerated, the fat will rise to the top and make a cap on top of the stock. This rendered fat is called schmaltz. You can save it and use it to add a chicken flavor to other dishes, or to fry potatoes that will be served with a chicken dish. It will have the flavor of your veggies in it as well, so the flavor it is a bit different from schmaltz you might buy which is made from just rendered chicken fat (and sometimes onions).
Skim off the schmaltz before using or portioning for the freezer.
When it’s cold, the stock will have a slight thickness, as you can see in the video below. This is from the bones in the meat, and gives homemade stock it’s silky feel.
Both recipes are simple, but Stock #2 has an added step of browning the meat and veggies before adding the liquid. Even with that, active time is low. This is a good recipe to put on when you’re going to be around for a couple of hours, and once you get it started, it just simmers while you do something else. The recipes call for a 1 1/2 hr. simmer time. If you want to concentrate the stock even more, remove the meat and veggies after 1 1/2 hrs. and continue to simmer the stock until it’s the concentration you’d like.
As you can see from the pictures below, Stock #1, top, is lighter than Stock #2
NOTE: The link for these recipes is below. This will take you to a ‘Basics’ section that I will update with some of the recipes I feel everyone should have in their pocket. I won’t always make a separate post like this one when I add something there, but I will link to the recipes I put there from other posts. You can go directly from ‘Basics’ on the Main menu to get to these recipes. I’ll probably be posting into Basics for a while to build that reference section, so check back occasionally to see what’s new there!