The heart of many great dishes is a rich stock. This recipe makes about 8 cups of rich chicken stock which can be used in many ways, including soups, sauces and gumbos.
Estimated Time 4 hourshours20 minutesminutes
Servings 8Cups
Here's What You Need
1whole chicken - cut up
1largeyellow onion - quartered
1largebell pepper - quartered
4stalksCelery - with leaves
1bunchgreen onions
2carrots
6stalksparsley
10black pepper corns
2bay leaves
1tablespoonkosher salt - Optional
16cupscold water
Herb Bundle (Any combination of these or your other favorite herbs)
2 sprigsfresh basil
2 sprigsfresh thyme
2sprigsfresh oregano
2 sprigsfresh marjoram
2sprigssage
Here's What You Do
Cut up a whole chicken into 2 wings, 2 thighs, 2 legs and 4 breast pieces. Place these pieces along with the back, neck and giblets (if available) in a large stockpot.
Sprinkle chicken pieces with Creole seasoning.
Cut up vegetables, tie the fresh herbs and parsley together with butcher twine and place the peppercorns in a spice bag or wrap in cheesecloth; set all aside.
Set a large stockpot over medium-high heat, add a small amount of vegetable oil. Brown chicken pieces on all sides. This should be done in batches as not to overcrowd the pot. This should take about 5 minutes per batch.
Remove the chicken pieces from the stockpot and set aside.
Add the cut-up vegetables to the stockpot and stir well.
Add the chicken back, giblets, the herb bundle and peppercorns to the stockpot, then add the browned chicken pieces and gently stir to combine.
Pour 16 cups of cold water into the stockpot and stir to make sure everything settles.
Increase the heat to high and bring the stockpot to a rolling boil for about 10 minutes, then lower to a simmer.
After simmering for another 20 minutes (30 minutes total), remove the (browned) chicken pieces and let cool in a bowl for about 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove the chicken meat and place it in a bowl and return the bones, skin and fat to the stock pot.
Skim and discard any foam that develops in the stockpot.
Continue to simmer for 3 ½ hours (four hours total), covering the pot occasionally to control the evaporation.
When finished, remove everything with a large slotted spoon and strain the stock through a strainer into a bowl. This should yield 8 cups of stock.
Notes
Choose the fresh herbs that you like. The ones in this recipe are ones I like and think go well with chicken.You can substitute dry herbs for the fresh herbs. I would suggest 1 teaspoon, each, of your favorites, placed in the garni-bag along with the peppercorn.The use of salt in making the stock is optional. I often leave the salt out so that I can choose the amount of salt in the final dish.This can be frozen in an airtight container for about 6 months.