Homemade Chicken Stock

This is the week about allergies!  One of the things I decided to start doing when Taylor was diagnosed with his allergies/sensitivities was to start making homemade chicken stock.  This is a simple way to add extra nutrition to your food, and I think it makes your homemade soups and sauces taste so much richer!

I make mine in the crock pot.  I also just save up scraps of onion, carrots, and celery as I’m making other dishes.  Then put all the scraps in a gallon sized ziplock bag until it’s full.  Then I dump it in my crock pot, put my organic chicken on top, add a few seasonings, water, and WA-LA!  You’re good to go!

This photo was taken on a time when I didn’t have any scraps.  But the onion peels really add a deeper color, so add them if you have them.  If not, just chop everything up fresh.

Then add:

1 1/2 tsp Real Salt

<a href="http://Redmond Real Sea Salt – Natural Unrefined Organic Gluten Free Fine, 10 Ounce Shaker (2 Pack)“>Redmond Real Sea Salt 2pk

1 TBSP black pepercorns

1 TBSP dried parsley-I MUCH prefer to use fresh- it makes a HUGE difference in taste, but alas, I don’t always have it.  So if you do have fresh parsley, grab a handful and throw that in!

1 6-8 lbs ORGANIC chicken-you MUST use organic.  It also makes a HUGE difference in the gelatinous of the stock.  You want your stock to be thick.

Then add water until it is 1″ from the top of your crock pot and cook on high for 6-7 hours.  Remove chicken carefully-it will be extremely tender.  Let the meat rest covered for 10-15 minutes. Then separate the bones, meat and fat.  Put the bones back in the crockpot, save the meat for another meal, and discard the fat.  Why throw the bones back in?  That is where you get the gelatinous part of the stock.  All the rich minerals cook out of the bones into the broth.

Turn the crock pot down to LOW overnight.  I start my broth around 10am usually, then I have meat to use in a soup for dinner that day.  Continue to cook the stock overnight.

The next morning, turn off your crockpot, and strain the stock from the veggies/bones into a glass bowl.  Discard veggies/bones.  Let the stock cool for 30-45 minutes on the counter.  Then cover the bowl with a lid and put it into the refrigerator until the next morning.  When you pull it out all the fat will be solidified on the top.  And that gives you an almost totally fat free homemade stock!

Scrape the fat off and then pour into glass pints, or

these AWESOME plastic containers(I only pour 1 cup in these if I freeze it).

<a href="http://Freshware 36-Pack 16 oz Plastic Food Storage Containers with Airtight Lids – Restaurant Deli Cups, Foodsavers, Baby, Bento Lunch Box, 21 Day Fix, Portion Control, and Meal Prep Containers“>Freshware plastic containers 16oz 36 pack

I keep the stock in my fridge for up to a week, or I keep them in the freezer.

I hope you will give this a try.  It seems like a lot when you read through it, but after your first time, you’ll see how easy it is to make your own chicken stock.

Look for more recipes next week using this broth!

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