Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Homemade Chicken Stock



Have you ever read Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential?  I found it to be very amusing and fascinating.  Half-way through the book he explains to us readers how the food we make at home can be as wonderful as the special meals we get at our favorite restaurants.  One of the tools...you guessed it... homemade chicken stock!  I agree with him 100 percent!  It really is easy to make and it adds so much flavor to your recipes.  Tomorrow I will post my chicken and brown rice pilaf recipe --of course I used my homemade stock.  Talk about comfort food...Yum!

Homemade Chicken Stock

3 to 5 lbs. of chicken wings
2-3 yellow onions, peeled and cut in half
2-3 carrots, peeled and cut in thirds
1 celery stalk cut in thirds
6-8 springs of fresh parsley
1 tsp of peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1-2 Tablespoons tomato paste
(other optional ingredients:  2-3 Thyme sprigs (or 1/2 tsp dried), 2-3 tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, leeks, white wine, etc.)
12 cups of water

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Place chicken wings, carrots, and onion into roasting pan --use two pans if needed.  Roast for about 25 minutes and then turn wings over.  Roast for another 25-30 minutes.  Transfer wings, carrots, and onions to a stock pot.  Pour off any fat from the roasting pan and discard.  Put roasting pan over med-high flame and pour 1 cup of water into pan.  Water should come to a boil very quickly.  Use a wooden spoon to release the brown pits on the bottom of the pan, this should only take a couple of minutes.  Pour everything from pan into the stockpot.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the stockpot and pour about 10-12 cups of cold water into stockpot, enough to cover by 1 inch.  Bring to a boil and using a spoon, skim off the scum (this is just foam and congealed proteins and impurities) that will rise to the surface.  Keep skimming for a few minutes until the foam subsides.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 2-3 hours.  Remove as much of the wings and vegetables using a large handled strainer or spoon.  Then strain the stock into a large bowl.  Cover and chill overnight.  The next day the fat will be on the surface of the stock.  Skim off the fat with a spoon and discard.  This will be fine for a week in your refrigerator or store (in 1 or 2 cup amounts) in the freezer.