back to basics

What’s more homey than a pot of soup cooking on the stove? Making soup used to intimidate me, and the thought of making soup stock made me want to run away from my kitchen. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that both are quite easy.

If you’ve ever roasted a chicken, you may as well make your own chicken stock, as the process is incredibly simple. Roast a chicken for a midday meal, and your home will smell wonderful for hours. Other than the remaining chicken carcass (and neck, if it came with the chicken), here’s all you need to make your own stock:

2-3 carrots

1-2 stalks celery

1 parsnip

1 onion

1 bulb garlic

a few sprigs of thyme

few sprigs of dill

bunch of parsley

peppercorns

salt

1 stock pot or Dutch oven

If you do any cooking at all (or any dieting…ahem, celery), you likely have many of those ingredients in your fridge already.

To make your soup stock, simply take the leftover chicken carcass and the neck and throw them into your pot. For the veggies, don’t bother with peeling them. Cut the carrots, celery, and parsnip in half or thirds, and throw them in the pot. Cut your bulb of garlic in half, crosswise, and toss it in the pot. Cut the onion into quarters, and toss it right in. Add the herbs, a teaspoon of whole peppercorns, and about a teaspoon or two of salt. Cover all ingredients with water and simmer away on the stove for about four or five hours.

Remove the carcass and veggies, and strain the stock into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, skim the fat off the top of the stock.

Either use the stock within three days or put into containers and freeze for up to six months.

And by the way, if your stock seems gelatinous after you remove it from the refrigerator, this is a good thing; it’s simply the result of cooking the soup stock ingredients along with the chicken bones. With homemade stock, you’re getting superior quality soup stock with no preservatives.

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