Your best Chicken Stock Recipe

[KristiB]

I made it once a few years ago. Let it simmer for a very long time, got distracted, put a strainer in the sink and poured it down the drain. :mad:

I was so mad at myself but I've made vegetable stock enough times to ensure it won't happen again.

Now I have a carcass in the freezer itching to be "stocked".

So how do you make yours?

[sneezles]

Oh my, Kristi, that sounds like something I would do!
I use CL's Chicken Brown Stock though the white stock is good I like the fuller flavor of the brown stock. Though I do add all sorts of veggies (root mostly) to the pan during the roasting. With yours being already roasted you'd just have to roast the veggies.

[Canice]

I remember telling a friend that I almost did that the first time I made chicken stock, and he said that he actually did it . Might be more common than you think .

Anyhow, I really like my stock:

4 pounds (+/-) chicken backs, necks, and wings
About 3 quarts water (enough to cover by at least two inches)
2 medium onions
4 celery ribs, chopped, plus the leafy centers
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
8 sprigs fresh dill
8 sprigs fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
2 whole cloves garlic
1 teaspoon peppercorns

Put chicken and water in a stockpot and bring to a boil, skimming off foam. Add onions, celery, carrots, and parsnips and return to the boil, again skimming off accumulated foam. Add dill, parsley, bay leaves, garlic and peppercorns and let simmer a couple of hours. Strain through fine cheesecloth into a large bowl. Cool quickly and let sit in refrigerator over night, then skim off fat and store the stock.

[Tizzylish]

I use Tyler Florence's method from his Chicken and Dumpling recipe:

Chicken Stock

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Carrots, cut in large chunks
2 Celery Stalks, cut in large chunks
1 Onion, halved
1 Garlic Bulb, halved
Reserved Chicken Bones (from a 3 pound chicken)
2 Quarts Cold Water
4 Sprigs Fresh Parsley
4 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
2 Bay Leaves

Preparing Stock:
To prepare the stock, coat a large stockpot with olive oil and place over medium heat. Add the vegetables and saute for 3 minutes. Add the reserved chicken bones, water, and herbs; simmer for 1 hour. Strain the stock to remove the solids and set aside.

[dneilson]

Anyhow, I really like my stock:

4 pounds (+/-) chicken backs, necks, and wings
About 3 quarts water (enough to cover by at least two inches)
2 medium onions
4 celery ribs, chopped, plus the leafy centers
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
8 sprigs fresh dill
8 sprigs fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
2 whole cloves garlic
1 teaspoon peppercorns

Put chicken and water in a stockpot and bring to a boil, skimming off foam. Add onions, celery, carrots, and parsnips and return to the boil, again skimming off accumulated foam. Add dill, parsley, bay leaves, garlic and peppercorns and let simmer a couple of hours. Strain through fine cheesecloth into a large bowl. Cool quickly and let sit in refrigerator over night, then skim off fat and store the stock.

I do similar -- have for years (sans dill though - don't know if I can handle dill in chicken stock, especially when it's going in Asian applications). Additionally, only parsley stems are added.

I find the stock much more flavorful if I saute chicken/veggies until browned (this gives me opportunity to drain a bit of rendered fat [which I save and add to cat food - the feral community can use the extra fat]).

When time permits, I saute the root veggies and chicken in proportions close to what Canice has above. If I'm in a rush, the dumping in the pot without roasting/sauteing is better than store or no stock at all.

Dolores

[Canice]

I can understand the reluctance to include dill, particularly depending on the application, but I'm a sucker for dill and chicken and the flavor's not pronounced - but it sure smells good!
I'm really liking the idea of starting with the chicken and vegetables and adding the water after the veggies have softened and the fat drained off. I need to make stock on the weekend and am going to do it that way!

[Kahlico]

My chicken stock, I KISS:

1 Roast whole chicken (no innards) (or use already roasted carcass)
2 Remove good white meat for later use
3 Put roasted carcass in large stock pot
4 Cut 1-2 onions in half, leaving the skin on, and stud onion with about 5 or 6 whole cloves (scatter amongst halves or just in one half, your choice)
5 If I have an organic lemon around, I'll wash it, half it, and throw that in the pot
6 Bay leaf
7 Few pinches of saffron, and sometimes I'll put a few bits of cinnamon (sticks or the unground cinnamon in my cinnamon spice grinder) in the pot
8 Pour in water to cover (I think my pot can handle about 13 cups after all the goods)
9 Simmer for a couple of hours, covering pot about halfway through
10 Let cool, strain into another container and not down the sink, refrigerate if time is not an issue, skim off fat the next day, use within 3 days or freeze.

I normally skip any herbs as I never know what I'll use the broth for and if that herb will even complement the dish I'm making. However, if I do have a specific reason, some of my favorite herb combos are thyme/rosemary; parsley/thyme; and one time I even used a carcass from my lavender and mustard roast chicken -- wonderfully flavored stock that went surprisingly well with a lot of things.

[avariell]

I normally skip any herbs as I never know what I'll use the broth for and if that herb will even complement the dish I'm making. However, if I do have a specific reason, some of my favorite herb combos are thyme/rosemary; parsley/thyme; and one time I even used a carcass from my lavender and mustard roast chicken -- wonderfully flavored stock that went surprisingly well with a lot of things.

I love how outside the box you think!! I believe most of us (myself included) would never add the spices you mentioned for the exact same reasons you don't add the herbs. How totally unique (and I mean that in a very good way )

[Kahlico]

I love how outside the box you think!! I believe most of us (myself included) would never add the spices you mentioned for the exact same reasons you don't add the herbs. How totally unique (and I mean that in a very good way )

LOL Thanks! I do take it as a compliment. However, sometimes I have to remind DH that I'm eclectic, not eccentric.

I've surprised myself by the combination of certain herbs and spices. The first time I rubbed a chicken with fresh lavender, olive oil and Dijon mustard, the resulting roasted chicken I swear had a warm, almost cinnamon-like aroma and flavor. And I love the combination of cinnamon and pungent herbs (rosemary or sage), so I'm not afraid to spice with cinnamon first and finish with herbs. It's just a hint of the cinnamon's warm that seems to bring out the best of pungent herbs.

But perhaps I prefer a warm, spicey base to a herbal base.

Or maybe I'm just bored and way too willing to see if certain combinations work...

[KristiB]

Lavender chicken sounds sublime.

I wondered about the spices and how they would interact with other dishes.

I used Kellers recipe and the only spices are salt and pepper so it's a blank slate for stock.

Lavender chicken...can you post a recipe for that? I always hesitate to use it myself because if you use too much it's like eating a sachet.

[avariell]

I took an awesome Cooking with Lavendar class a couple years ago. We made the most amazing Creamy Chicken with Avocado and Lavendar. It was divine! I think one of the keys to making lavendar taste better is to be sure you are using culinary lavendar Some of the English garden varieties are way too pungent for food.

[Kahlico]

I took an awesome Cooking with Lavendar class a couple years ago. We made the most amazing Creamy Chicken with Avocado and Lavendar. It was divine! I think one of the keys to making lavendar taste better is to be sure you are using culinary lavendar Some of the English garden varieties are way too pungent for food.

Kristi I don't want to hijack your thread, so I'll post my recipe for lavender Dijon Chicken on a new thread (and perhaps we'll intice Josie to post her recipe for Creamy Chicken with Avocado and Lavender -- sounds heavenly).

Hope your stock comes out well Kristi!

[tkrotter]

I think one of the keys to making lavendar taste better is to be sure you are using culinary lavendar

How to determine that lavendar is culinary?