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Real Chicken Stock
What's great about it
Knowing how to make a basic stock should be a part of everyone's cooking repertoire. A chicken stock was one of the first recipes I ever cooked as a chef and once you get the hang of making your own, you'll never go to store-bought versions again. I remember making large pots of delicious stock with my great Aunt as well as in the hotel kitchen where I worked. This wonderful stock was used to make soups or glazes that made the most magical sauces. I always make large batches of stock and freeze it in 500 ml portions, so I always have stock on hand if I need to whip up a quick soup or classic risotto.
Ingredients
2.5 kg free-range chicken wings or 3 whole chicken carcases.
2 brown onions, peeled and quartered
3 carrots, washed and cut into chunks
1 leek, washed and cut into large dice (white and light green parts only)
few sprigs of thyme, parsley or a few bay leaves
For this recipe, I've used chicken wings and roasted them in the oven before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. This gives a richer more flavorful stock. You can use any part of the chicken for making stock, but I find the wings to have more flavour and are filled with more gelatine which I love. You will end up with about 3 litres of pure stock in total...you'll need about 6 litres of filtered water to cover the chicken wings.
Method
- Preheat your oven to 220°C.
- Divide the chicken wings between 2 baking trays.
- Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Remove from the oven and place the wings into a large stockpot.
- Add the vegetables and herbs and cover the chicken and vegetables completely and generously with cold filtered water.
- Bring to the boil and skim immediately.
- Reduce the heat to very low.
- Cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours, skimming the stock every 30 minutes if needed.
- Remove from the heat and pass the stock through a fine strainer. You can also use a cheesecloth.
- Cool the stock quickly - I like to pour my hot stock into a large, clean stainless steel bowl that is sitting in iced water, allowing the stock to cool quickly.
- Divide the stock into 500 ml portions and store in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze it until you need it. You can also pour into ice cube trays which is quite handy.
Notes and Inspiration
This stock makes a perfect bone broth just heated up on a stove and infused with a little ginger and garlic. Sip slowly when your digestive or immune system needs to revive and regenerate.
This delicious stock will look like jelly when cooled in the fridge.
For a delicious sauce or jus or demi glaze....just simmer down the 3 litres of stock to approximately 800 ml.
Perfect for my Immune Boosting Chicken Soup, or use in my delicious Green Pea and Spinach Risotto.