Homemade Chicken Stock
Chicken stock! I use it all the time, and was buying it all the time... until I finally figured out how easy it is to make. Homemade chicken stock both saves money and gives you more control over flavor and nutrients. This control makes homemade chicken stock one great way to use food as your pharmacy! Homemade chicken stock has so many good health benefits it's a post in itself (which I may or may not be planning...) Just know, it's the bones that make the meal here!
Whenever we have a roast chicken, we save the bones, wing tips and whatnot. You can keep them in a freezer bag until you are ready to make the stock. It's also easy to add whatever flavor you want. I've made a super simple version just using the bones, wing tips, and water, and that's fine--but when I add some veggies, it's fabulous. You can also make an Asian flavored stock by adding ginger. Chicken stock is incredibly forgiving, and you can really experiment to figure out how you like it.
When you have an hour at home, stick everything in the pot and leave it alone. Once it's done, just store it in the freezer in two-cup servings and BAM! You have chicken stock whenever you need it.
I've also made a "super" version of this when I had a bad cold and instantly felt better! I'm not kidding! My throat was so raw from coughing. But right as I slurped some stock off my spoon, my throat felt better and I wasn't coughing anymore. For this "super" version, I added more garlic and veggies for flavor and left a crack in the lid so the stock would reduce and condense.
Now that you have some knowledge, go to town with this basic recipe and have fun improving your health!
Homemade Chicken Stock
Makes 4 cups
Bones, wing tips & skin from 1 roast chicken 1 onion, chopped in large chunks
2 celery stalks, chopped in large chunks
1 carrot, chopped in large chunks
Salt & pepper to taste
10 cups water
Place bones, wing tips and skin in large pot. Cover bones with water (it may not need to be 10 cups, or you may need more if you are using more bones). Add remaining ingredients. Cover and bring to a rolling boil for 1 hour. Remove from heat. Using a strainer, remove all solids from the pot.
The oil and fatty looking stuff that floats on top is actually GOOD FOR YOU! Don't take it out!
Can you see the difference between this and the typical store bought stuff? You can't see through it! That's because a lot of store bought versions remove things through processing to display better numbers for their nutrition stats on the side of the container. But numbers aren't everything!
Can she have any even though it cooked with onions?
I bought a couple packs of these containers. They are the perfect size for measuring out stock for freezing and were very inexpensive.
