Homemade Chicken Stock
As the weather gets cooler, I am one of those people who really enjoys a bowl of soup. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but I enjoy rich and deeply flavored stocks. I have been buying chicken and veggie stock for years, but nothing compares to homemade. Also, you can keep a batch in the freezer and take out a portion when your ready to use for your soups or as a flavor enhancer in any recipe. This recipe is from my dear Mom and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
*You will need a large stock pot in order to fit all the water, chicken and veggies.
Ingredients
1 gallon of water
1 bunch of parsley
1 bunch of thyme
5 celery stalks cut into fours
4 carrots cut into fours
5 garlic cloves, whole
2 bay leaves
2 tsp of black pepper or peppercorns (about 10)
2-4 tsp of salt, I use kosher salt
1.5 lbs of chicken feet
2 lbs of chicken wings with skin on
Turn oven to 400 F, put sock pot with gallon of water on stove and begin to heat up water on low-med heat. Pat chicken wings dry, salt and pepper, put onto sheet pan and top with a little bit of olive oil. Put chicken wings in oven for 5-8 minutes, just enough time to get a little color on them.
Cut up all the veggies and put them into the stock pot. Take chicken feet and rinse well with cold water, put into stock pot. After chicken wings have roasted in oven for a few minutes, put immediately into stock pot with all of the other ingredients. Make sure you add all the bits and fat from chicken wings roasting on sheet pan into the stock, these bits have lots of flavor.
Continue to slowly simmer stock for 5-8 hours. The first couple hours you will want to skim off the top of the chicken stock (it will look frothy), but otherwise leave it alone. You can put the lid on the pot with a little ventilation. I cooked my stock for 8 hours so my stock had a deep flavor and lots of collagen (from the chicken feet). Make sure you strain the mixture through a fine sieve and cheesecloth. Take out the bigger pieces of veggies and chicken before straining. Lasts in the fridge for about a week and in the freezer for at least 3 months. Use for soups, added flavor when braising and for almost any Thanksgiving dish.
