Chicken Stock

Those of you who are my friends on facebook know that my first foray into homemade chicken stock didn't appear to go very well. However my friend Nina, who is very "in the know" about these things, told me I did it exactly right. However she told me this after I had thrown away the stock. I am definitely doing this again, though. In fact I have already restarted the stock bag. I will put the technique down here.

Okay so have a bag (I have a Tupperware canister) that you keep in your freezer. Whenever you trim or peel vegetables, put the trimmings and peels into that container (except not "cruciferous vegetables" like broccoli and cauliflower. You will have to google it to find out what other vegetables you shouldn't use. It is not a danger for me since our household fears most vegetables). When your bag or container is full, buy a cheap package of chicken necks and backs (sounds gross and I don't even know if they sell them like that, this is just what it said in the cookbook I got it from, which I don't remember the name of and have since returned to my mom). I used the chicken carcasses from the master recipe I posted previously, so that would work too. Put the vegetables and chicken in a big stock pot with 2 gallons of water. Add:
10 peppercorns (yes I counted them)
5-6 red pepper flakes (I counted them too)
any lame looking veggies from your fridge
1-2 tbsp of herbs (I didn't do this because I don't like ambiguity. I want to be told what herbs, or I won't add them...)
1 tbsp kosher salt

Bring to a rolling boil, then turn down to a low simmer and cook, uncovered, until it has boiled down a lot. Nina says the timing isn't critical here. Also she says the flavorings that I mention aren't that important, because if it's too flavorful, you won't be able to make it suit whatever recipe you are using. So then when it looks good, and it will be several hours of simmering, strain it through a fine strainer into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, until fat solidifies on top. Remove and discard fat (turns out if you are using a cooked chicken carcass there won't be much fat). Transfer stock to plastic containers (approx pint sized, or 1 cup sized) and freeze for up to 6 months.

So a lot of recipes call for chicken stock or chicken broth, and the kind in a can has all sorts of additives. Not that I am too overly conscious of those things, but if my own stock can be made from parts of veggies I would throw away and parts of chickens I would throw away, it seems worth a shot. So I will try this again, and I will not throw out anything ever again until I have talked to Nina.

Update (June 2013): this is what I'm doing today, and after several years of doing this, I have learned that I would rather just make veggie broth. Then there is no fat to skim, you can just let it cool somewhat and divide it into your containers to freeze.  Much easier and faster than waiting til the next day, and then I just use it in any recipe that calls for chicken or beef broth, because it's just veggie broth.  One of my favorite discoveries, because I make it for free!