What's in your chicken stock?

I remember as a youngest in my mother's kitchen helping her prepare a big batch of chicken noodle soup. Usually, it was because dad or my brothers had caught a cold. And, you know the best thing for a cold is chicken noodle soup.

Mom would always have chicken stock canned up, but if she didn't that meant we would have to whip up a pot. It wasn't a hard task to do, it was fairly simple.

I've had some people ask me how to make chicken stock, since many of my recipes call for it. Here are some easy steps that will help you prepare the perfect stock for your next recipe.


Chicken Stock
To make chicken stock, start with scraps of chicken or chicken carcasses, which I just freeze until I'm ready to use them.

You also need onions, celery and carrots. If you have any veggies that are past their prime, this is the perfect use for them.

Put the chicken scraps, onions, celery and carrots in a huge stock pot with water. I also use a little bit of chicken soup base to speed up the process a little. (Do NOT use bouillon cubes, they are way too salty.) Let it cook all day at a very low simmer, adding water whenever it gets low.

When you're through cooking it, remove the meat and veggies and strain the stock somehow. I use a yogurt strainer and a fat separator, which removes the fat by taking the liquid off the bottom. Any fine strainer will work. You can also remove the fat by cooling the stock.
Now you have delicious chicken stock ready to put in the freezer and which can be used in a huge variety of dishes.