Here is a quick tip
that is going to make life so much easier for those of you who make your own
chicken stock – make it in the Crock Pot!
For those of you who don’t make your own stock, start now. There is nothing better or more satisfying than
to make stock out of something that you would normally throw away. Stock can be made with a whole, uncooked
chicken from the market, but I find that the tastiest stock comes from a
chicken that has already been seasoned and roasted, meat carved away and
consumed at dinner or piled on a sandwich. I
leave a good bit of chicken on the bone for extra flavor and toss the entire
carcass into the pot.
There is a debate
over whether or not the meat from a chicken used to make stock should be
eaten. I say, don’t. Whether made on the top of the stove or using
this crock pot method, stock takes many hours of simmering in order to produce a
flavorful end result. This means that
the meat has pretty much had every bit of flavor cooked out of it.
Crock Pot Chicken Stock
1 whole chicken
or rotisserie chicken*
1 medium yellow
onion, washed, skin on, quartered
2-3 carrots,
cut into 3-inch pieces
2 celery
stalks, cut into 3-inch pieces, with leaves in tact
3 garlic
cloves, peeled
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried
thyme (or 1 sprig fresh)
1 teaspoon rubbed
sage (or 1 sprig fresh)
½ teaspoon poultry
seasoning
½ teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon
Kosher salt
Place all
ingredients in a slow cooker. Add 5 to 6
cups cold water, or whatever it takes to cover the chicken. Cook on low for 8 hours. Place a large
colander in a large bowl. Pour the stock
into the colander, separating the solids from the liquids. Discard
solids. Pour the stock into jars or containers.
I use various sized plastic containers from 1/2 cup up to 3 cups, so it
is premeasured for just about any recipe that I need. If you
plan to freeze the stock, leave about an inch at the top for liquid expansion, otherwise use within three days.
*As rotisserie
chickens tend to be highly seasoned, I find that they yield the most
flavorful stock.
This post is linked to:
