The Normal Chicken Stock

Whoa, hold on, an original recipe? Yes, that’s right. We’re doing this again.

This week, I had a lot of time to myself which lead to trying something I have never done before: making my own chicken stock. Even as I type this out for you now, I have a hard time deciding if I made stock or broth, since most of the pieces of chicken I used still had some meat left on them. Indeed, I had a whole leg in there with my discarded pieces from earlier in the week to make sure I used every ounce of chicken in my fridge.

If for no other reason than the heavier nature of the Normal Chicken Stock, we’re going to call it a stock regardless of the amount of meat salvaged from the whole chicken leg I used to get the flavor into it. This recipe is purely for using up bones or bits carved off from the chicken you use on a regular basis, whether it be a whole chicken or leg quarters. You just need stuff with the bones in it.

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1. Preheat your stock pot on medium, add tablespoon of olive oil. Allow olive oil to heat up before adding in your onion, carrots, and celery stalks. Caramelize your vegetables on the bottom of the pan to produce fond (the dark crap that gets left behind on the bottom). This will only take a few minutes. Stir occasionally until satisfied with the color of your vegetables.
   
2. Add the garlic to your vegetables late as not to burn it while creating fond on the bottom of your pan. Once the garlic is aromatic, drop in your chicken parts and stir together.
   
3. While the chicken and the veggies are getting comfortable, add your dried spices and the shiitake mushrooms. Once everything is in the pan, pour your ten cups of water into the pot slowly.
   
4. From here, bring the contents of the pot to a boil on high. Once an even bubble has been achieved, reduce to a simmer and allow four hours to simmer away, covered.
   
5. When four hours has elapsed, drain your stock over a mesh strainer and into a bowl or large glass measuring cup. I recommend you strain at least twice to get as many particulates out as possible. 
   

And that’s the Normal Chicken Stock! You can freeze it or keep in in the fridge for a little while if you intend to use it within a few days. A lot of fat can congeal on the top despite straining off the stock. If you don’t like this, you can pull the fat out once the stock has cooled in the fridge. The fat is good for ramen, which is what I used part of my first batch for.

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