richness in a pot

I’ve posted the recipes for regular chicken stock and for rich duck stock here before, but I just realized that I’ve not put up recipes for beef stock or brown chicken stock yet.  This recipe is for brown chicken stock, but the recipe for the beef stock is exactly the same, just sub in beef bones for the chicken pieces. Having these two stocks in your freezer, ready when you need them, will make you feel very rich indeed, as there is nothing better than homemade stock!  I’m including nearly a dozen pictures to make it as easy as possible to follow along.

Brown Chicken Stock

6 to 8 pounds chicken backs and wings
1 large onion, peeled and cut into 8 pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 1-inch pieces
Trimmings and peels (well washed) from celery root (optional)
A handful of parsley stems (with or without leaves)
2 bay leaves
12 whole peppercorn
Cold water

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place chicken pieces on 2 large baking sheets or in a large roasting pan along with onion, carrots, celery, and celery root trimming, if using. Roast, stirring once halfway through, until chicken and vegetables are golden browns, 1 to 1  1/4 hours.

In the meantime, place the parsley, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a large heavy stockpot.

When chicken and vegetables are finished roasting, add to the stockpot.

Straddle the baking sheets or roasting pan across 2 burners.

Then add 1 cup of water to each pan and deglaze pans by boiling over high heat, stirring, and scraping up any browned bits, for 1 minute.

Transfer pan sauce to the stockpot.

Add enough cold water to completely cover all the solids in the pot, then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for a minimum of 3 hours, or up to 5 hours.  Add more water as the water level goes down to the original level of the water, you should be able to see where that was, by the scum ring around the pot.

Pour stock through a large sieve that is placed over another large pot, then discard the solids. Cool to room temperature, uncovered, and then chill for several hours or overnight until all the fat rises to the top and solidifies.

Use a large spoon to lift off the solid fat, discard the fat and either use the stock right away or place it in freezer-strength zip-lock bags and freeze.

Be sure to label each bag with not only the words “brown chicken stock”, but also with the quantity and the date.

Makes 18 to 20 cups