Rich Brown Chicken Stock
Tara's Notes
Almost every good basic cookbook contains a decent chicken stock recipe. This is how I make it. I really believe a good homemade chicken stock is essential in some soups, especially simple brothy ones.
Noted on 3/5/2012
Ingredients
Method
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Heat the oven to 450°F. Place the chicken pieces in roasting pans and roast, turning occasionally, until very brown, 45 minutes to an hour. You want agressively browned but not burnt chicken, adjust the oven temperature if the good brownness on the bottom of the pans is turning black. Transfer chicken pieces to large stock pot.
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Set the roasting pans (one at a time) on the stove and add some water. Turn the heat on medium and scrape up all the brown bits. Add this to the stock pot.
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Add the vegetables, herbs, garlic and peppercorns in the stock pot and add 3 gallons of water. All the vegetables and chicken should be completely covered with water.
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Bring the stock to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to very low and simmer the stock for 4 hours. You may choose to skim or not, I usually don't, unless I'm looking for a perfectly clear stock.
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Strain the stock through a medium mesh strainer into another large pot or large bowls, pressing on all the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Let cool to room temperature, transfer to freezer containers and freeze.
Cook's Notes
Yield
Makes about 3 gallons
Ingredient Notes
You can halve the ingredients, but the prep, cooking time and mess remain the same.
Variations
Turkey stock can be made in the exact same way and, when reduced by at least half, makes a great base for turkey gravy.
Beef stock requires about 12 or 14 pounds of meaty bones and scraps. Most of the bones should be veal for the best flavor. I am using veal breast to fill in these days. The beef stock must simmer longer, about 6 hours.
If you have time, reduce the stock by half to save freezer space. Be sure to label the stock double strength.
Special Equipment
You will need a very large stock pot, at least 4 gallon capacity, plus, a couple of large roasting pans, a good size medium mesh strainer and lots of freezer containers.