World's Best Chicken Stock

This is the main reason I bought a very large and sturdy 12 quart pot.  This recipe is very easy and stock will stay in your freezer for 6 months or more.  By making your own stock you cut out the horrible MSG (now known to be given to lab rats to make them gain lots of weight!) and massive amounts of salt used in store brands. 

Ingredients:

  - 2 (5 lb) roasting chickens (innards removed but neck used)

  - 2 large yellow onions quartered and unpeeled

  - 6 carrots unpeeled and halved

  - 4 stalks celery cut into big chunks with leaves attached

  - 4 parsnips unpeeled and cut in half

  - 20 sprigs fresh parsley (flat leaf)

  - 15 sprigs thyme

  - 20 sprigs dill

  - 1 head of garlic unpeeled and cut in half sideways

  - 2 tbsp kosher salt

  - 2 tsp whole black peppercorns

Add all ingredients to your stock pot and cover with water leaving about an inch above the ingredients but with room for it to simmer without boiling over.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 4 hours.  Skim any foam that rises to the top - this comes from the skins on the garlic and onions.  Strain out the solids and discard everything but the chicken.  (This can be a messy and painful process with such a heavy pot and hot liquids - I sometimes let things cool before trying to handle this step or use a handled sieve to fish out solids before trying to lift the whole thing.)  Separate the liquid into freezer containers if not using right away.  When it has frozen the fat will have risen to the top and should be easily removed.

Side note:  I got the main body of this recipe from Barefoot Contessa but she throws away all that expensive chicken meat afterwards.  If you take the extra time to separate the chicken from the solids and remove it from the bones and skin it makes awesome pot pies, enchilada meat and in anything else you would use shredded chicken meat. It also freezes well!

This recipe is an excellent way to get your house smelling delicious as well!