There are a lot of reasons to make your own chicken stock. It tastes much better is the most obvious reason (see results of my taste tests in this recent blog), but it also provides you with versatility when cooking, gives you the chance to control salt use and sodium intake, saves you money, and can provide a nice way to help you reduce food waste.
Since there is not a lot of "active" time when making stock, it can also give you an excuse to binge watch a new show on Netflix. SO MANY BENEFITS!
I won't use this page to go into the whole saga I undertook to develop this recipe (but you can read that here if you want), but here are some of the important points to keep in mind if you're undertaking a homemade stock adventure and want to use it in something like a classic Chicken Noodle Soup or the Matzah Ball Soup recipe you can find here on Crisp:
- Don't boil that stock, yo!
- Your vegetable ratio should be something like this:
- 60:20:20 - Onions : Carrots : Celery
- Add flavor elements in increments throughout the process to make a more complex final product
- Seriously, don't boil that stock!
This recipe calls for "chicken parts". You can either ask a butcher for chicken parts for stock (necks, backs, feet, wings, etc), or just get a whole chicken and cut into parts (including breast bone, legs, etc). I've used both on separate occasions and had great results each time. Just make sure the final amount of chicken you have is between 5-6 pounds.
You can freeze this stock in containers or bags for up to six months. You can also leave it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. After five days, you can prolong the life by bringing the stock to a boil and putting it back into the refrigerator for another 5 days. Repeat as needed or until you've used all the stock.