Chicken stock

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I discovered making chicken stock in my quest to make matza ball soup like I had as a teenager. I tried store bought chicken broths and other simple recipes yet it never tasted quite right. Unfortunately I came across how to make chicken stock before I started using Pinterest. I do not have the sites that I originally saw how the scum the stock and what vegetables to add. However, if you do a Pinterest search for chicken stock you are sure to probably run across them.

Here’s what you will need

• Whole chicken
• bay leaf
• water
• onion
• salt
• carrots or celery (optional)

Chicken stock vs chicken broth

Chicken stock is a much richer and tastier version of chicken broth. Both involve chicken and water, but stock is much more involved than broth. I make chicken broth with a whole hen and enough water to cover the chicken. Typically I make chicken broth and reserve chicken stock for when I am making soup.

I buy a whole chicken that is around 4 lbs. If it is over 5 lbs they tend to be fatty and tough so anywhere between 3 – 4 1/2 pounds is where I try to stay. If I’m using the chicken for cracker stew or poppyseed chicken I get one on the larger side.

Cleaning it out

Rinse off your chicken and remove the neck and innards if it comes with them. Most of the time they do a pretty good job removing feathers, but just give your chickens a good look over before you put it in the large stock pot. I normally find feathers with whole turkeys more so than chickens.
Add 4 quarts of water. Yes you want to measure it because you don’t want too much liquid. Too much liquid gets the stock watered down and not very rich. Bring it to a boil over medium heat. Let it boil for 10-15 minutes. While it boils skim the foam off the top. You want to do this until most of the foam is gone. Removing that foam gives you a much clearer stock.

Now it’s almost leave it to cook time

Add about 2 cups of water back in the pot. This returns close to what you removed with the foam back into the pot. Add 1 bay leaf, 1 Tablespoon salt, and a medium onion quartered. You can also add some celery or carrots if you’d like. I have started adding about 1 cup chopped carrots. Or if I buy the baby carrots I’ll just throw a large handful in.

Bring it back to a simmer and put on the lid. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for 90 minutes.

That’s it!

Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaf and vegetables. If you’re using it for chicken soup you can set the carrots to the side to go back in if you’re going to boil noodles in the stock. When I make matzah ball soup I remove the carrots and set them aside to go back in after the matza has cooked. If I’ve peeked your interest in making matza ball soup that recipe can be found here.

Be careful taking your chicken out as it is probably going to fall apart as you take it out. I set it in a strainer over a bowl to save any liquid that comes out as it sits to cool down. If you are going to pick your chicken let it sit a good while because it’s hot! I like to pull it apart some to release some steam.