I don’t know about you, but I absolutely HATE when things go to waste. One might think that hatred of waste would translate into the ability to use all of my leftovers and have an orderly fridge because I would always repurpose my groceries from the previous few days. Alas, I am not blessed with the gene that compels one to plan out their meals for the upcoming week. I much prefer to cook something for dinner that inspires me that day. This means that instead of having a neatly organized refrigerator with each item in its proper place, my fridge is where leftovers go to die – despite my best intentions. (Please don’t judge me – I can’t be the only one with this affliction out there…) I hang my head in shame each time I have to throw away a half used container of something barely recognizable anymore.
One of the things I always find myself throwing away is a half used container of chicken stock/broth. I’m sure many of you can relate to the fact that there are an abundance of recipes that call for one or two cups of broth, but almost all of the store bought containers come in 4 cup containers. Like most people, I put the unused portion back in the fridge with high hopes of future use, but as I have previously established above we all how often that actually happens… (Sad face) Therefore I would inevitably have to throw it away after discovering the container languishing on the back shelf with a thin layer of mold on top because I forgot all about its existence. The worst part about throwing it away is that the broth in those containers is always tasteless to begin with – and don’t even get me started on all of the additives and sodium. Throwing stuff away is bad enough, but throwing away tasteless junk is even worse! So, imagine how happy I was when I discovered that I could actually reuse something from the night before and NEVER HAVE TO BUY CRAPPY CHICKEN BROTH AGAIN! (How happy? Well let’s say the skies opened up, a beam of light shined down, and angels began to sing…) Now if I could just work on the rest of my fridge…
Chicken Stock (I also use this whenever a recipe calls for broth. Stock is just a thicker and more flavorful broth and who doesn’t want more flavor in their food?!)
Ingredients
- 1 chicken carcass from your roast chicken the night before (Yay for reuse!)
- 2 yellow onions, peeled and quartered
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 3 or 4 pieces each
- 4 celery stalks, broken into 3 or 4 pieces each
- 4 – 5 cloves of garlic, cut in half (no need to peel them)
- A few sprigs of fresh parsley
- A small bunch of fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon of whole peppercorns
- Coarse kosher salt to taste
- Plenty of cold water to cover everything in the pot
- Lots of Ziploc baggies and a pen or Sharpie
Directions:
Place all of your ingredients in a large stock pot. If you find that your chicken carcass is too large to fit in your pot, break it into more manageable pieces with your kitchen shears. Cover everything in the pot with plenty of cold water so that all of the ingredients are submerged. Bring the stockpot to a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a low simmer and let it work its magic for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and add salt or other spices to get your desired flavor.
After simmering, turn off the heat and let everything sit for a few minutes. Place a large bowl/container in the sink (large enough to hold all of your stock) and set a large colander in that bowl. Using oven mitts, veeeeeeeeeery carefully pour the contents of your pot into the colander. Remove the colander from the bowl and let any liquid still draining from the trapped remnants drip into your bowl. Discard the remnants.
Now let the stock sit at room temperature undisturbed for about an hour. During this resting phase, the fat will rise up to the surface. Using a large spoon, scoop off the accumulated fat. (I personally discard the fat, but I know others who save it for cooking potatoes, etc.) If you really want to get rid of all the fat, you can place your container in the fridge overnight and let the fat congeal on top for easy disposal, but I rarely do this because I never have the fridge space to fit my huge container of stock.
Once you have your stock defatted to your liking, here comes the fun part – storing the copious quantities of stock you just made. I personally like to portion my stock into 2 or 3 cup measures for easy use later, but you can have it in any quantity you like. Seal the baggies and store in the freezer until needed. I typically generate about 12 – 16 cups of stock each time I make it.
When it comes time to use the frozen stock later, pull out a baggie and defrost. If your recipe calls for a smaller amount of broth than you placed in your baggie, there’s no need to defrost the whole thing; just break off a frozen chunk in the approximate amount needed and put the remainder back in the freezer. Voila! Minimal waste incurred!!
