Lovely Bones
Chicken stock gets framed
No matter what form your chicken soup takes, the foundation of one that has you coming back for seconds is always a rich and lip-smackingly soulful stock. And a smart way to make your own is from chicken bones. Yes, already cooked chicken bones, the ones you usually trash before doing the dishes. They could be from a chicken roasted for Sunday supper, from a rotisserie chicken or the picked-clean bones from fried chicken takeout. The key to pulling out as much flavor as possible is to slowly simmer the boned-up stock for a good long time–an hour is a must, two to three hours not unheard of. To store for later: Divide among a few zipper-lock freezer bags, seal three-quarters closed and then carefully push any extra air out before sealing completely. Freeze flat on a baking sheet and stockpile in a nice, tidy stack.
Recipe developed by the Tasting Table Test Kitchen
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, roughly chopped
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 celery stalks, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, divided
- 4 parsley stems
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- ¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 12 cups water
- One cooked chicken carcass--including any skin, fat and meat shards
- In a large soup pot set over medium-high heat, add the oil, onions, carrots, celery and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables become very soft and start to brown and stick to the bottom of the pan, about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the parsley stems, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper and cook until the garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the water and chicken carcass along with any skin, fat and leftover meat shards, increase the heat to high and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until the stock is full-flavored and rich, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes (or up to 3 hours for a super concentrated, rich stock). Turn off the heat and cool for 30 minutes before straining through a fine-mesh sieve into an airtight container. Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.