Chicken Stock

Making your own chicken stock is easy and very economical, and best of all, it tastes so much better than shelf products. The process is as follows: quarter the chicken to remove the breast, thigh and leg meat, and reserve any desired organ meat found inside the carcass. Place the carcass inside of a stock pot, add aromatics (herbs, etc) and enough water to cover, and simmer for approximately 90 minutes.

I used 3 carcasses for my stock, so in the process obtained 6 boneless breasts, 6 tenderloins (found on the underside of the breast), 6 legs, 6 thighs, 3 livers, 7 1/2 quarts of stock, and cooked meat scraps picked from the carcass upon completion. Some people also save the gizzards for making gravy, but I'm not much of a gravy person. Ditto on the wings... save them and cook them if you want, but mine go in the stock pot.

A little economic incentive to purchase a whole chicken to quarter yourself and prepare your own stock:

The whole chicken cost me $1.89/lb.

The same brand of chicken is priced at:

$2.19/lb for legs and thighs

$4.99/lb for boneless breasts

$5.99/lb for tenderloins

$1.39/lb for livers (OK, so this is less per pound, but considering many people just toss them in the garbage, consider them sort of thrown in for free.)

Chicken Stock retails in the supermarket for upwards of $3/quart.

The vegetables used have some monetary value, however many of the parts used are parts that we do not otherwise use in cooking, for example the innermost ribs of celery, the tough tops of leeks, and the stems of parsley.

It's a win-win all around; you save money and end up with a superior product.

To start, locate the breastbone in the center of the breasts. Using a boning knife, make an incision along one side of the breastbone, and work your way down along the rib cage until you have completely separated one breast from the carcass. The skin can be effortlessly pulled off. Turn the breast around to locate the tenderloin which can also be removed by hand with ease; it is barely even attached. Repeat for the other side.

You end up with this: 2 boneless breasts and 2 tenderloins.

Next, turn the chicken around so that the back is facing up. With one hand pressing down on the back, pull one leg up until you hear the joints snap. Using your knife, cut around the thigh bones to remove the meat from the carcass. You will now have the thigh and leg all in one piece. You can leave them attached if desired, or cut them apart by severing the joint. Again, repeat for the other side.

Here is the liver meat that was removed from inside the carcass. I use chicken livers in certain Italian sauces as well as Spanish style rice.

Repeat the de-boning process with as many chickens as you would like to use for your stock; just make sure they will all fit in your pot! :)

Wrap up the breasts, thighs, legs, livers, etc. and refrigerate or freeze for future use.

Next, chop up your aromatic vegetables. I use yellow onions, leaving the skins on to color the stock, the innermost ribs of celery, the dark green tops of leeks, sprigs of thyme, parsley (normally I use only stems but had depleted my supply making stock last week and had only leaves left, so in they go...) . I also add bay leaves, whole black peppercorns, and a little salt (not too much, you will want to save most of your seasoning for later).
Add the aromatics to the pot along with the carcasses, and fill with enough water to just cover everything. Simmer for 90 minutes.

Once I have finished, I strain the stock into quart containers. If I don't need it right away, I refrigerate it so that I can easily skim the fat off the top before using. I always make extra and freeze it so that I always have some on hand.

Oh yes, one more bonus! I picked all of this meat off of the carcasses once the stock was finished. It can be used in chicken soup, chicken salad, or casseroles, etc.