Stock your Stock: The Evolution of Broth . . . Part I

There is nothing more satisfying to me than making my own vegetable and poultry stock (both fish and meat stock are on my to-do-experiment list).  Now, I started making chicken stock first; I think sometime way back when I lived with my grandparents after college and was making lots of bone in chicken, they liked my chicken.

Anyway, I started noticing how much waste was going in the garbage after our meal - all the bones, chicken skin, tidbits of meat clinging to the bone, not too mention the fat and juices at the bottom of the pan.  I decided I did not want to waste all that good stuff anymore so I decided to make chicken broth for chicken soup - Brilliant and thrifty I thought! Well of course I did not look in a book to find out how to make broth - or at least good broth.  So I winged it and came home from the grocery with celery, carrots, onion - inexpensive but you will read later that spending money on making broth is not the goal.

So I bought the stuff, cut it all up, put the veggie mix in with all the chicken bones I had been collecting in the freezer for a few weeks in a large pot, filled it to the brim with water and let it simmer with lid on for about 1 1/2 hrs.  Let's see where did it all go wrong, well wrong is not the word but BLAND is . . . First off when making chicken stock put all the goodies in the pot then add water to just barely cover the ingredients - too much water will only dilute the broth and increases cooking time in order to get that perfect, rich broth.  Second, a lid? What was I thinking? That keeps the water in and does not allow for proper reduction.  Third, WHOLE CHICKENS are where it's at - the more the better!

So some time between leaving the grandparents and entering graduate school I started roasting whole chickens.  Up until recently I was a single girl, and other than the frozen food dinners at the grocery (you know the 10 for 10 "cuisines") there are few options for singles when it comes to individual serving sizes.  Then why buy a whole chicken you ask? How do you manage to eat a whole chicken without it going bad? I think this dilemma  inspired me to find all possible ways to use everything I buy.

The first night, usually Sunday, I roast the chicken.  It takes a total of 10min prep and about 1hr 45min cook time.  I steam or saute vegetables on the stove top during the last 5-10min of chicken time.  As for carbs - well I never used to bother but Eric (my fiance) likes them, so I cut up some potatoes and put them in with the chicken and that's that. So total time spent on meal one is 20min or so.  So we eat the chicken and place the leftovers in the fridge for the next night.  After the second night of whole chicken eating, I tear the chicken to pieces - literally, I use a big sturdy knife.  Now when I first open my pack of raw, whole chicken, the inside of the chicken contains, well the insides and a neck.  I put in a storage container and place it immediately in the freezer. As for the cooked meat, I tear off all chicken meat I can find off the bones and either freeze it or put it in the fridge for a meal the next night (like Mexican style chicken with rice or pesto chicken with pasta).

Next, I chop up the bones into manageable sizes (pieces will eventually have to fit into pot so usually the back bone and ribs needs to be halved). After that I put those bones in with the insides I put in the freezer earlier, along with all the skin, fat and juices left at the bottom of the pan.  I ALSO include all the bones/skin left on peoples plates - this my sound gross but it's not, promise.

I cook a whole chicken about every other week, especially in the winter - because it is hearty soup season! So for every two chickens I make a broth.  The best part of making chicken broth, for me is that it is never quite the same.  Whatever the ingredients and spices you use to make your roasted chicken will end up in the broth.  For instance, last week I made a spicy curry chicken with thick slices of onion -"discs"- laying across the bottom of the pan - onion "discs" as I call them not only add flavor but it keeps the bottom of the chicken from getting all soggy and cooking in the fat. The onions and the spices mixed with all the juices, which I saved for making the broth! The outcome being a rich, slightly spicy broth with I used to make white bean chili with chicken and an assortment of hot and mild peppers.

Remember earlier I mentioned going to the store to buy ingredients for making stock is not necessary - well here is why:  Those vegetables I steam or cook in any meal always have scraps that most put in the garbage.  I do not. I freeze them in a separate container.  Onion skins and cut off ends, the tough asparagus stalks cut off from the bottom, garlic skins and garlic that is a little past it's prime, carrot ends . . . . you get the picture. Accidentally buy to many vegetables one week? Cut them up and freeze them for stock or for cooking with later.  All these veggies add up quickly and can be added to the making of the chicken broth or for a very nice vegetable broth.

A quick and final note as I end my first blog post, wear gloves or fully wash your hands immediately after handling hot peppers - the pain is horrible if you let the oils soak into your skin.  If you do happen to forget and end up with burning hands - rubbing alcohol will break down the oils and almost immediately relieve the pain.

My next posts will soon follow with recipes and photographs, as I take you through my weekly cooking and grocery routine.