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My First Chicken Stock
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There once was a boy who bought his chicken stock in a box, no questions asked, and used this boxed stock in every recipe he cooked that required chicken stock. Did he stop to think about making his own stock from scratch? He didn't. He said to himself, "Why should I spend three hours simmering chicken bones and water? This boxed stock is fine, and this dinner will be fine, and anyone who thinks different gets a zero in my book."
OK, confession time, that boy was me. I am a chicken stock skeptic, a perpetual purchaser of those colorful boxes, the ones that help you save time and make a complicated recipe like risotto a cinch to pull off. Sure, it'd be nice to have homemade stock around to cook with, but I'm an impulsive person, and I rarely know what I'm going to make for dinner until the last minute. If I decide to make something that requires stock, I never have time to make it from scratch. And, so far, I've been living a very happy life as a consumer of store-bought chicken stock.
Until tonight. Tonight I looked at myself in the mirror and I said, "Adam, do you want to spend the rest of your life trading integrity for convenience? Stop being a stock whore. You need to pull yourself together and make this dinner count. Look up some recipes, go to the store, and have the time and patience to do it right."
After searching through multiple cookbooks, I settled on two chicken stock recipes that I liked. The first was from Patricia Wells's Trattoria, and the other from Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Both recipes called for chicken wings and necks as opposed to chicken carcasses, which I didn't have on hand. I mixed the techniques from both, the ingredients from both, and developed my own foolproof formula: Place chicken and vegetables in a pot, cover with water, bring to a simmer, and three hours later you'll have a stock.
And that's basically how it happened. I bought the chicken parts from the grocery store across the street. I tried to get the best chicken parts I could—I found free-range organic chicken wings—but there were no organic free-range chicken necks or backs. So I succumbed and bought one packet of super-processed chicken backs because I thought to myself, "Well, when you buy your boxed stock, you don't know where those chickens came from do you? Those may be super-processed too."
It's shifty logic, but it got me back to my apartment fully equipped for stock-cooking. I put it all on the stove, and brought it to a gentle simmer. Then I watched a series of edifying shows on TiVo, namely The View and reruns of Roseanne. When the stock was ready, three hours later, I ladled it through a cheesecloth and sieve into another pot (as suggested by Patricia Wells).
I tasted the liquid and at first felt disappointed. All that effort for this? (OK, it wasn't that much effort.) But then I realized that the stock was unsalted (probably so you could use it in recipes that you salt later) and, with that in mind, I tasted again and praised myself for the stock's color, complex flavors, and viscosity. This was good chicken stock.
Immediately I put the stock to use, following Wells's recipe for saffron risotto. I figured that risotto is the perfect showcase for a homemade stock. It takes in so much broth that it's basically broth-saturated rice. And this broth was my broth, and it would taste brilliant.
And sure enough: It did. Really! There was a quality to this risotto that was absent from my risottos of years past; it was enhanced by the complexity and authenticity of the stock, which held it all together.
Later, when I looked at myself in the mirror, I no longer felt cheap. What I saw reflected was the real deal, no cheap 30-minute Food Network atrocity, but an Italian grandmother.
For real. I have wrinkles and a wart.
Making stock is dangerous business, but—in the end—it's worth it.
Recipes
The Amateur Gourmet's Chicken Stock
Patricia Wells's Risotto
About the author: Adam Roberts is The Amateur Gourmet. His book, The Amateur Gourmet, will be published by Bantam/Dell in summer 2007.
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10 Comments:
I make chicken stock every 6 weeks and have done so for the past 15 years--it is never not in my freezer. Your stock would have been infinitely superior had you first roasted the chicken until golden brown, and if you had used a stalk or 2 of celery, and a handful of parsley, as well.
Deb07 at 9:48AM on 03/27/07
This is going to sound crazy, but I absolutely love making chicken stock. It's probably my favorite thing to make period. One thing I always make sure to do is to simmer the stock for as long as possible, I go for 6 to 8 hours, until I can crush the bones with my tongs. This makes a super rich, super gelatinous stock.
Marvin at 12:03PM on 03/27/07
Marvin, I thought it was just me. I LOVE to make chicken stock more than anything. It is such a fulfilling process.
Maybe I need to get out more.
I wasn't going to divulge but I never simmer the stock for less than 8 hours either. When I do I am always disappointed. Also, if you use rotisserie chickens make sure you remove all of the skin because there are tragically salt-soaked.
Skimming is also important. While I skim throughout the process, if you want a truly fat free stock pour it in a bowl and when it cools down chill it in the fridge. Then skim off all of the fat. So as not to lose any stock, I put the skimmed stuff in a small bowl and microwave it on high. Then after that has cooled in the fridge I spoon off the fat and voila more stock!
Okay. Now I'm scaring myself...
Deb07 at 12:30PM on 03/27/07
Marvin, you don't sound crazy. I love it too, though i like to "save" the chicken before it melts into the soup, so my cooking is 2, 2 1/2 hours top. I love doing it because it keeps me at home, close to the kitchen, yet I can do other things like read or work while monitoring the heat from the other side of the kitchen counter.
Adam knows, because I've told him 33 times, that adding sliced fresh ginger and parsnips add amazing flavor to the stock. It may not be for every recipe, but for my basic chicken soup with matzo balls it hits the spot.
flip at 12:30PM on 03/27/07
Other commenters are missing the point that Adam did a a great job the first time out. Now he can add their frills and furbelows if he likes.
And for myself, let me say that I start with backs and necks (super-cheap and available in Good, Better and Kosher at Fairway) and coarse salt in water to cover plus two inches more. Bring to a boil, skim, then add a good kosher chicken breast with skin and bone. Simmer. Remove breast after 45 minutes and keep to shred later. Add carrots, celery, onion, parsnip if you like, and plenty of cleaned leeks and simmer for two hours. remove all solids, put stock through chinoise, bottle it in mason jars if you want stock, reduce by 1 inch and taste, then bottle, if you want soup. Great for all soup/stock uses, except really fancy ones where you ought to be using stock made from bones (example, anything from Thomas Keller).
For even better flavor use chicken feet instead of backs and necks. These are very hard to find--I get them at Adam's Fairacre Market in Kingston, New York, but they don't always have them even there.
I make soup/stock every two weeks from October to May. Then I use Swanson's lower sodium chocken stock, which is easier to use for cold preparations (like cold soups, which I love) precisely because it doesn't have much gelatine and so will not get gloppy when served cold.
annien at 1:33PM on 03/27/07
I just use the chicken carcasses. Then, because up till a month ago I didn't have a deep freeze, I strain the solids out of the soup, and then boil it until it drastically reduces. And then reduces some more. I pour it into ice cube trays. When frozen, I have very concentrated stock cubes on hand. They're really convient - just melt one or two in a cup with the appropriate ammount of water for the recipe!
Peasantwench at 2:45PM on 03/27/07
No time? when I buy a BBQ chicken from the market I store the carcass in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer to be used later to make chicken stock. Nothing smells more like home than making chicken stock.
Louise at 4:14PM on 03/27/07
For me, the difference between stock in a box, and homemade is the gelatin. Homemade stock has that nice gelatinous texture that makes everything you cook with it have a better mouthfeel. I had to make soup today, and because I'm both sick as a dog and housesitting, I had to use stock in a box. It was still pretty good (carmelizing the onions a lot helps) but it didn't have that same texture as my stock in the freezer at home in Montana.
Charlotte at 9:40PM on 03/28/07
Adam, this is a huge step in your development as a cook! Now that you have done this, you can really play around with the recipe and put your own personal spin on it next time. When I make chicken stock, I always roast the onion, celery and carrots first to get a really rich, sweet flavor and a beautiful deep color. Pick and choose from all the comments and do what suits you and have fun. Congratulations!
cate at 9:32AM on 03/29/07
i have been using a pressure cooker with no discrenable difference (i think), and i have stock in like an hour. i have been thinking lately of duck stock ie magret, confit & stock!
but the best is this: ikea sells these giant ice cube trays. (the ice cubes are giant, not the trays). if you freeze the stock in them each is 1/2 cup. this is super handy. of course, because i am insane i vacum-pack them by the 6. i would hate to frostify our fine work.
Dish at 3:15PM on 03/29/07