I’m going to blow your culinary mind…are you ready? Stock is just amazing flavored water. Stay with me! I know many of you foodie types are ready to click that nice X button in the top of the browser for that seemingly stupid comment. But, how many times do you cook with water? A few examples: pasta, rice, quinoa, grits, thinning out a sauce, or even steaming vegetables. Think for a moment about all those cooking methods, most of them involve liquid absorption in some fashion. Now… why would you ever allow for bland, boring, no flavor (admittedly life giving) water to take up space in your pasta instead of the flavor bomb that is stock?? Like I said, mind…blown…you’re welcome.
Because of this, I utilize stock in my kitchen as much as I possibly can. It’s pretty safe to say that I’m whipping up stock about once a month.
You might be saying “But Karissa, if it’s so important and you use it so often, isn’t it easier just to BUY stock?” To which I would reply, “Yes grasshopper, but what comes easy is not always best.” Ever taken a look at the back of that stock box in the grocery store? Here is an example of what you might find in that ingredients panel: Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Dextrose, Yeast Extract, Chicken Flavor, Flavoring, Corn Syrup Solids, Chicken Fat, Hydolyzed Soy Protein, Dehydrated Chicken Broth.
Uh…yum? No thanks, I’ve had my fill of “chicken flavor” for my life time. The only chicken flavor I want, better come from a frickin’ chicken. The #1 unspoken rule of clean eating, is those easy kitchen basics that you want to use most of the time.. you gotta make ’em (most of the time). Don’t let that scare you. Chicken stock, or any stock for that matter, is SUPER easy to take on. Mine only takes 8 ingredients, not including water, which come on that doesn’t count. So next time you have about two hours, and a chicken carcass to spare, give this a shot.
And before you ask me where the hell you are supposed to get a bunch of chicken bones from, check out my recipe for Whole Roast Chicken. Two birds (kinda literally), one stone. But honestly you can just save bones from any chicken dish if you’re not ready to roast off a whole chicken. Just pop them in a freezer bag (don’t forget to date it!) and use when ready.
| Prep Time | 10 min |
| Passive Time | 2-3 hours |
| Servings |
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- 1 chicken carcass
- 1/2 onion quartered, skin on
- 4 stalks celery chopped into large chunks
- 3 large carrots chopped into large chunks
- 1 bunch parsley
- 3 cloves garlic smashed, skin on
- 1 tsp whole peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- water
Ingredients
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- In a large pot (at least 6 quarts) nestle all the ingredients, except water, into the pot.
- Fill the pot with water until all ingredients are covered with about an inch of water
- Heat over medium heat until stock comes to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for (at least) two hours preferably three hours.
- Strain solids from stock and discard, and allow stock to cool
- Freeze or refrigerate
This recipe doesn't call for salt. I like to salt my stock when I'm using it in the final dish to ensure I don't over salt. When you're ready to use the stock simply salt to taste!
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