A bonus episode of Don't Panic Pantry to teach some building block basics! It's time to extract the essence of felled birds and plucked vegetables, and then transfer it into water. Let's make Chicken Stock.
A (very) loose recipe for chicken stock.
Ingredients
Assorted chicken bones, whether raw or leftover from a roasted chicken. (I often use a combination of necks, backs and a little bonus handful or two of feet -- if you have some cuts like wings or drumsticks, with a little extra meat on them, it will make your stock even more flavorful).
Additional aromatics, like leek tops, parsley stems, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, black peppercorns, bay leaves, sliced ginger, star anise...whatever you want to infuse into your stock.
Note: I like to use my biggest pot, since it's basically just as easy to make a large pot as it is a small one. For an 8-quart stock pot, you are looking for about 4 pounds of chicken parts. For a 16-quart stock pot, you're looking for about 8 or 9 pounds of chicken parts.
Directions
If you like a darker-colored, roastier stock, you can roast your bones first. I personally like that light, hay-colored stock, so I just put the raw bones right in the pot. Fill the pot with water, leaving about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of space between the water line and the top of the pot.
Bring the stock to a boil over high heat (aren't you glad you left that room at the top?). Once it is at a hard boil, a lot of scum and foam will rise to the top. Skim that scum and discard it (should "Skim That Scum and Discard It" be a motivational t-shirt?).
Once it is mostly skimmed, reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Allow it to just barely bubble for about 1 to 2 hours, then add your aromatics. Continue cooking until you don't really feel like waiting for it to cook anymore. This could be another hour, if you're really in a hurry. Though I like to go about 5 to 6 hours, or longer, if I have the time.
Turn off the heat, then remove as many big hunks of chicken or aromatics that you can using a slotted spoon, a strainer with a handle, or even tongs. Discard those which have been removed.
If you really want to get fancy, line a strainer with cheesecloth and then ladle the stock through it (if you just pour it, the weight of the full pot of stock will push impurities through). But you can also just go through a regular strainer. Oh, and make sure you have another container to catch the stock...otherwise you're just pouring it down the sink, which would be a real waste of time. Take some stock and put it in a bowl or a mug. Season it with salt and taste it. Isn't that lovely?
Finally, you're probably going to want to skim off some fat (and you can save it to use as schmaltz!). There are a few ways to do this.
1. Ladle it out carefully from the top of the pot.
2. Let the pot cool, transfer it to the fridge, then skim the fat off in the morning once it is hardened.
3. Transfer the stock to containers, then move it to the fridge and skim the fat in the morning.
You did it! You made chicken stock! Or you just read the recipe and haven't made it yet.
The Team:
Basically Everything other Than Cooking: Ben Leavitt
Music: Ray Suen
Pop-up Graphics: Jordan Husmann
Noah Galuten: Noah Galuten
15 сен 2024
