Chicken Stock

Pin It I've been buried in some crazy sickness and then Passover prep.  I have family coming in this weekend, so I should be cleaning like crazy, but I need a break.

So I'm sharing with you my chicken stock recipe.
Any time we have chicken I freeze the bones for stock.  It comes in dead useful when everyone gets sick and all you need is chicken soup.  Last Tuesday, we all woke up feeling like we'd been hit by a truck.  With Passover coming up, I decided to go ahead and make the stock early.  There's always more than enough.  And it couldn't be easier.

You will need:

A giant pot
3 chicken frames, some chicken thighs/legs, or a few gallon bags full of bones.  And necks.  Always freeze the necks.
2 onions
3-5 carrots
1 celery heart
2 cloves of garlic
1 Tbs salt
Thyme sprigs (or 1/2 Tbs dried thyme) or 1/2 Tbs Herbs de Provance
1 large bay leaf

Rough chop all the veggies.

Put it all in your giant pot and cover with water.

Bring this all to a boil and reduce to a simmer for a few hours.  I usually just let mine go for about 3 hours.  It will reduce drastically.

Strain out the broth into a clean pot.
If you have a fat separator, you can take out what you need of the broth now and separate it that way. What you don't need immediately, put in the refrigerator, covered.

Once it cools completely, the broth will be like jelly and the fat will have settled on the top.  This is schmalz and it is DELICIOUS to cook with.  You can either toss it out (and your arteries will thank you) or you can use it to fry matzoh*.  Or brown more chicken.  Or use it any other way you would use lard/oil/butter.  (I only save this to fry matzoh in at Passover.  Otherwise I'd be dead.)

 There is your stock.  Ready for whatever you have destined it for.


* If you want to fry matzoh, put the schmalz in a frying pan and heat over medium-high heat.  Place a whole piece of matzoh into the fat and let it fry for 20-30 seconds per side.  Remove to a drying rack with paper towel underneath.  Once you pull it out, season immediately.  It will golden and crisp once it dries.  I like to salt some of them and use thyme and rosemary, but for some serious matzoh crack, sprinkle with a little salt, sugar, and cinnamon.

I would have taken pictures but I ate it all.  Sorry.