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How to Make Chicken Stock!

How to Make Chicken Stock!

Chicken stock is a key part of a balanced, Human Diet. Learn how to make it super delicious!

 

The Main Ingredients
* 2 chicken carcasses – about 1 pound of bones
* clean water – of course!
* some cheap white wine – we got the cheapest
* 2 gallon or so pot

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The Veggies
* 4-5 medium carrots – peeled and rough cut
* 3 stalks of celery – rough cut
* 2 onions – rough cut

The Spices
* thyme
* bay leaves
* pepper corns
* parsley
* seal salt

HOW TO MAKE IT

1. Put your chicken carcasses into the pot and cover them with 1-2 gallons of water

2. Add 1/2 cup of white wine to the mix (WATCH the video to find out why we use wine)

3. Cook on the stovetop at medium heat, simmering gentlyl (DON’T BOIL IT!) for about 2.5 hours.

4. Skim any scum that rises to the top. You’ll need to do this every 15 minutes or so at first then every hour or two.

5. Cook for at least 4 hours, no more than 48. Then strain the stock (broth) through a colander to get the chicken bones and meat out. (Shawn says “I screwed this part up in the video, my bad!”)

6. Add the “mirepoix” (the veggies) and the dry spices (pepper corns, thyme) to the now-boneless stock and put it back on the stove for another 45-60 mins. Remember, NO BOILING!

7. When you have 20 mins to go, add the chopped-up parsley, a few bay leaves, and about a TBSP of sea salt for taste. See Luke’s tips below.

8. Once it’s done, strain it again through a small metal colander, a metal coffee strainer, or a cheese cloth (like me).

Straining Tip from Luke: “It’s easier to strain stock when it’s still pretty hot. At room temp and lower, the fat and gelatin kinda stop up the strainer.”

Good point.

9. Put stock in your fridge after it’s down to room temp and allow to cool overnight. On the next day, remove the fat that has collected on the top.

10. Store in small plastic containers in the freezer. Be sure to leave a little room in the containers for the freezing stock to expand.

That’s it!

A few more tips from Luke:

Toward the end, after you’ve added the fresh parley, you should add about a tablespoon of sea salt to help you taste the stock. Check it for acid. If it tastes kinda flat and fatty (taste from underneath the surface to get the real taste because the fat goes to the surface), then add some more white wine and/or fresh lemon juice. Also, if you plan to use the chicken stock for non-asian soups (don’t do this if your going to make Tom Ka Gai), you can add a whole can of tomato product before the final straining. Trust your taste buds. Check the stock as your cooking toward the end and add acid or spice or–in moderation, because the stock gets saltier when reduced–salt.

Thanks, Mr. Shanahan!

And finally…

Luke and Dr. Cate’s 4 Stock No-No’s!

1) NEVER BOIL YOUR STOCK! Not even for a few minutes. Vigorous boiling releases unwanted particles that can actually emulsify into the stock, making them impossible to strain out. This can make the finished stock bitter and cloudy. Just a low, gentle simmer or even below a simmer for a hot steeping at around 200 degrees f. extracts flavor, gelatin and other nutrients if you do it long enough. When it comes to chicken stock, however, you can go too long.

2) For chicken stock, don’t simmer or steep for over 12 hours. This is not a magic number. You can make a decent stock in just a couple hours. I let my stock stay on the heat for 6-8 hours. Anything beyond 12 hours, however, and you can start to create off flavors, and you don’t get much, if any, benefit in flavor or nutrition extraction. Beef stock, on the other hand, takes at least 12 hours on the heat, and a full 24 hours is preferable.

3) Never cover your stock while it’s on the heat, or while it’s cooling down. You may partially cover it, it you wish, to retain some extra heat. But covering the pot completely without allowing steam to escape–to use Julia Child’s words–“sours the stock.”

4) Use wine (white for chicken stock, red for beef or lamb stock) for the acid at the beginning of the stock-making process. Avoid using vinegar if you can, as it leaves the finished product tasting sharp. If you don’t have wine, for a chicken stock you can use lemon, and for a beef stock you can use tomato product (pureed tomatoes), presuming that you aren’t planning on using the stock for Asian or other recipes that may be incompatible with tomato flavor.

One last thought. Happy animals make for healthier, far tastier stock. So go free range chickens and grass fed and finished beef if at all possible.

A good stock is a half an hour away from being a fantastic soup, and 5 minutes away from being a great demi-glace or gravy.

One last mistake: They don’t make it often enough!

Please note: Please do not share personal medical information in a comment on our posts. It will be deleted due to HIPAA regulations.

This Post Has 4 Comments

    1. I’m not sure it would be more nutritious, but it would perhaps save time. Some people love it that way becuase it’s a bit easier. However it’s cloudy, so some people don’t. The taste is slightly different too.

  1. Hi! I don’t see any instructions, just a photograph and “Chicken stock is a key part of a balanced, Human Diet. Learn how to make it super delicious!”
    Then the share buttons.
    Maybe a photo was posted I stead of a video?

Note: Please do not share personal information with a medical question in our comment section. Comments containing this content will be deleted due to HIPAA regulations.

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