Jules Chicken Stock
A wholesome broth acting as often as the cooking liquor for soups, casseroles and sauces. Extremely easy to make and so much better than stock cubes or dried alternatives. A generic recipe, where one or two chickens can be used, the pot is filled with water, vegetable flavouring added and all is gently simmered away for a couple of hours.
I share with you two images – how the stock looks raw before cooking, and how the the stock will look afterwards when the excess fat is skimmed from the top. Sometimes the stock takes on a more cloudy look and less golden look. Do not panic as this is just fine.
Ingredients
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Raw whole chicken- innards removed
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Cold water- to cover
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1 large onion- skin removed and quartered
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2 large celery stalks- trimmed and washed
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Carrots- stalk removed, cleaned and halved
Instructions
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01 Remove the 'parsons nose' from the chicken as this contains much fat. Trim excess fat also. Remove innards.
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02 Place the raw, whole chicken in a large saucepan.
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03 Fill the pot with cold water to cover the chicken with additional enough to come 3/4 up the saucepan.
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04 Add the vegetables.
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05 Bring to the boil and simmer slowly for a good 1 and a half hours.
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06 When cool, strain the liquid, removing all the vegetables and well cooked chicken.
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07 Leave in a bowl under cold, use fresh for cooking, or pour into freezer bags and freeze until required.
Notes
A very versatile broth. Do not add salt or pepper as it is meant to be a pure, lightly flavoured liquid. If the chicken has a lot of fat, best to leave the stock overnight in the fridge and then remove the fat with a spoon the following day, as it will have risen to the top and hardened. For a very concentrated stock, after straining replace liquid to the pan and boil hard until reduced by half. Freeze in individual freezer bags or plastic containers, and works well also by freeing individually in ice cube trays.
