Homemade Stock

We’ve had a run of the stomach bug in our house this week.  It’s been great fun, let me tell you!  No actually, I won’t tell you because that, my friends, would be Too Much Information!  

The only thing I missed about not having Thanksgiving at our house was not having leftover turkey meat and bones for making pot pies, turkey enchiladas, and turkey stock.  So, as a second best, I bought a whole chicken and roasted it.  We had the chicken and rice for a couple of meals then I deboned the whole bird.  I froze the leftover meat in a couple of bags and put the bones in a separate bag in the freezer.  This morning I pulled the bones out of the freezer to make the stock.

If you’ve never made your own stock, then I challenge you to do so!  It’s delicious and so much cheaper than the canned/boxed stuff.  And…you control all the ingredients!  I once saw Bobby Flay make stock on a soup episode and, let me tell you, it has totally changed the way I do it!  You won’t believe the difference roasting the bones and vegetable first makes.  

You will need: turkey or chicken bones, meat removed; 2-3 carrots roughly chopped(or a handful of baby carrots); 1-2 onions, chopped into  4-6 pieces each; 3-4 garlic cloves, whole; 2 stocks celery, roughly chopped (if you have celery on hand, great.  if not, no biggie.  just leave it out.); olive oil; 2 bay leaves; 1/4 c whole peppercorns; salt.

First, set the oven to 450 degrees.  Put the bones, carrots, onions, garlic, celery (if you have it) in a pyrex dish or roasting pan-depending on the size of the bird.  There’s no need to be exact with the vegetables as they are only for flavor.  You won’t be eating them.  Drizzle this with olive oil.  Put the pan in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

Then, put the bones and vegetables in a large stock pot on the stove.  Add bay leaves, peppercorns, salt, and 12 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Let simmer for about 4 hours.

Strain the stock into a fresh pot or bowl.  When Bobby made this, he returned it to the stove and reduced it by half again.  I rarely do this because I want more stock than that!  As for the salt, I don’t put too much in.  You can always add more when you make soup or whatever it is your making with your stock.  I divide my stock into smaller containers of 1-2 cups each and freeze them.  

I think we’ll have chicken noodle soup for dinner!

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