Stock is king. Here is a little culinary education as a gift from me to you: Canned broths really do suck.
Honestly, they are fine to use in the right setting and I use them myself, especially in casseroles. But when it comes time to making soup, I only use my own homemade stock.
Yes. It does make a difference. A huge one.
It takes some very basic ingredients and time. It is extremely simple, so don’t let it intimidate you. I don’t even peel the onions or garlic. Just throw it all in a pot and leave it alone for the afternoon.
Trust me on this one. It is so worth it….
Print
Homemade Chicken Stock
Nothing better than homemade chicken stock from scratch! Make a big batch then freeze it until you need it
Ingredients
4-5 pounds chicken leg quarters
3 onions, quartered
1 head garlic, sliced in half
4 celery stalks, broken in half
3 carrots, broken in half
8 mushrooms, broken into pieces
2 Tb whole black peppercorns
3 Tb salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh italian parsley, crushed in your hands
1 bunch fresh thyme, crushed in your hands
6-7 quarts cold water – just fill the pot to the top
Instructions
-
Dump everything into a large stock pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low but allow the stock to simmer. Cook for 3 1/2 hours. **If you want to use the chicken, remove from the liquid after it boils for one hour. Remove the meat from the bones and return all the skin and bones back to the pot.
-
Allow the broth to come to room temperature then strain out all the solids. If you want to remove all the chicken fat, refrigerate the stock and the fat will solidify on top then can easily be removed.
-
Divide the liquid into containers. Can be frozen for 4-5 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 quart
- Calories: 87
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 3581mg
- Fat: 1g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
This creamy chicken noodle soup is where I used my stock. It was outstanding. I’ll post that recipe soon, so go make the stock now so you will be ready when I post it!!! Go…..
Cinda says
What about all those wonderful veggies used in your stock? Can you recycle them by just putting them back with some of the stock for a good veggie soup or do they just need to go to the compost pile?
Carole says
Just depends on what you like. The veggies can certainly be eaten, they are just very well cooked. You can also reduce the overall cooking time so they veggies won’t be completely gone. I did that just today when I made chicken noodle soup for dinner. Only cooked it all for about 2 hours and chopped the veggies smaller.