Easy Chicken Stock makes Healthy Soups

What an autumn we have had so far. I wish this weather could last until December 20th, but sadly I know the bitter cold will blast in soon. Now is the time to start making soup. All great soup recipes start with delicious stock.

If you are cooking up a Zweber Farms whole chicken, chances are it took you a good while from freezer to table. First you had to thaw the chicken over night, then you had to prepare the chicken and recipe ingredients. Lastly, you had to cook it, which took anywhere from 30-90 minutes. After all the work, why waste most of the chicken by throwing the bones into the trash?

Solution: Make chicken stock.

Making chicken stock takes a little time, but it is really easy.

1. First take the leftover bones, back and neck and place in a cheese cloth.
2. Add: 2 sliced carrots, 2-3 sliced celery sticks, 1 sliced onion, 1 sprig herbs of choice (I use rosemary or thyme), and pepper to taste to the cloth.  (don’t go overboard on the pepper, you will always add more in your recipes)
3. Tie the cloth with a string.
4. Cover the cloth with water in the large stock pot.
5. Bring to boil and simmer for 4 hours
6. Bring back to rapid boil and boil for 30 minutes or until the water has reduce by half.
7. Dump out the contents of the cloth in the trash. Wash the cloth and save for another use.
8. Pour stock into glass jars and freeze.

Some stock recipes say to skim off the fat as it is simmering. I don’t, because the fat will rise to the top of the jars and act as a protective barrier to bacteria. You can just scoop off the fat when you are ready to use. You may have noticed that I don’t use any salt. You will add the salt when you make your recipes. The stock will last for several months in the freezer or a about a week in the refrigerator.

Use your homemade stock when you are making rice, couscous, soup and more.

Emily