Homemade is better - Part II

Photography by Matt Hocking

Homemade stock is easy. “But,” you say, “Doesn’t stock take hours? Isn’t it a homesteading-level project on level with baking bread or making your own butter?” Yes, these projects share being made from scratch, and no, they don’t involve becoming a full time homemaker. Let’s look at stock.

Vegetable stock is simple. Cut up vegetables, place in a pot with water, simmer for 45 minutes, strain and you’re ready to go. That doesn’t seem so bad.

Chicken stock takes longer, needing to simmer for about 3 hours. This is the moment when you give me side eye, the look that says, “let me tell you about the last time I had three hours to cook anything that I couldn’t even eat afterwards.”

Okay, stay with me for a minute: Sometime in the next — let’s be generous — 45 days, you are going to wake up on Saturday morning feeling a little rough from the night before and your plan for the day is to sit on the couch with a giant cup of coffee binge-watching something on Netflix for 8 hours. there is no reason that stock can’t be simmering on the back of the stove during this time. Problem solved.

“Still,” you ask, “why should I make stock at home when I can buy it at the grocery store?” Homemade is better. Check out why here.

Homemade White Chicken Stock

Makes about 8 quarts

Just a few simple ingredients, simmered on the stove, deliver a richly-flavored homemade stock with good body. “White” refers to simmering raw ingredients directly in water. For a “brown” stock the ingredients are roasted first.

Ingredients:

• 6 lbs chicken parts (see notes)

• 1 large carrot (2″ diameter and 8″ long)

• 2 ribs celery

• 1 large onion — 2 if not using a leek (about the size of a baseball)

• 1 leek, white parts only (optional)

• 8-10 black peppercorns

• 2 bay leaves

• 6-8 2-3” parsley stems (save the leaves for finishing dishes)

• 4-6 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions:

• Simmer chicken: Cut the chicken into 3 inch pieces. Better yet, have your butcher do it. Place them in an 8 quart stock pot and add water to cover the chicken by 2 inches. Partially cover the pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, being careful not to let it boil, about 20 minutes. Skim off the grey/brown foam that gathers on the surface, and discard. Reduce the heat to low and hold at a slow simmer - just a few bubbles per second.

• Add vegetables, herbs and spices: Meanwhile, roughly chop the vegetables in 2” pieces. This is not the time for fine knife skills, just get them chunked up. Add the vegetables and the remaining ingredients to the pot and continue to simmer for three hours, check every 30 minutes or so and skim any foam or other impurities that float to the surface.

• Strain and discard solids: At the end of three hours, remove and discard the solids. Then strain your stock through a fine mesh sieve. If you don’t have one you can line a colander with cheese cloth..

• Remove the fat from the stock. The easiest way to do this is to cool the stock to room temperature and then cool it in your refrigerator overnight. The fat will congeal on the surface and is easily removed. If you need the stock right away, let the stock rest for 15-20 minutes. The fat will float to the surface of your stock. You can remove the liquid fat with a spoon.

• If the stock is too thin, or bland, reduce your stock down to 8 cups over a gentle boil.

NOTES:

Most grocery stores have their chicken delivered pre-butchered. Buy cheap meat with plenty of bones, like leg quarters and whole wings. You could also chop up an entire chicken. If your market or specialty grocery breaks down whole chickens into parts, ask them for chicken backs and have them cut them into 3" pieces for you. You will pay about $1 per pound.

Letting the chicken cook for 20 minutes first makes it easier to skim off the foam. Otherwise you are fighting with the veggies floating on the top of your pot.

Don't let the stock boil until the end, after you have removed the solids and the fat, otherwise your stock will get cloudy.

You can test the level of flavor by putting a little stock in a small dish and adding a pinch of salt. Taste it. If it tastes to watery, reduce the stock further.