I've just finished making my first chicken stock.....

twoflower169

what do I do with it now?

Strain it and put it bottles etc, can I put it in the fridge and the freezer, how long
will it keep in both the fridge and freezer?

Any suggestions? Or advice?

Thanks

auntymabel

I generally leave stock in the fridge 'till I think it's gone off and then throw it away so I'd also like to know the answer.:eek:

zippychick

if youre not going to use it within a day or so, just pop it in the freezer. It will keep for endless time - how loong might you be keeping it in there? Too many times i don't freeze it and it goes off, but not now!

bunny_too

I always reduce mine down to fit into a marge tub, saves me space in the freezer IYKWIM. Just remember to label, fish and chicken look the same when frozen. Happy cooking BTx

pink_numbers

bunny_too wrote: »

I always reduce mine down to fit into a marge tub, saves me space in the freezer IYKWIM. Just remember to label, fish and chicken look the same when frozen. Happy cooking BTx

That is such a great idea to reduce the stock down! Why didn't I think of that before. :rolleyes:

Thank you

thriftlady_2

I always freeze mine. I use square tubs (about a pint capacity). Square tubs fit easily in a freezer. I have a big feezer so I don't bother reducing it.

You can also freeze it in plastic bags if you put them inside something first and let it become solid before sealing.

foxgloves

If I know I'm going to be cooking meals later in the week which require stock, then I'll leave it in a jug in the fridge. Otherwise I put it in freezer containers or washed out plastic milk bottles (leave a little space for expansion) and freeze it until I need it. The other option if you think it'll get wasted, is to use it straight away to make a big pan of soup and freeze that.

jammy_dodger

i freeze mine in saved 1pt milk cartons a handy size for measuring etc

misskool

Use the stock as a base for soup, which would be a delish meal for this week

I put some soup mix (or barley or bean mix) and some chopped veggies. Sweat the onions, the veg, add stock, add soup mix and simmer 15-20 mins.

Yum

msb5262

Hello OP,
Lots of sound advice above. I'll just add that if you don't have space to freeze the stock, you can boil it every day until you use it.
I know it sounds mad but it works!
Bring the stock to a rolling boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Now cool it quickly (you can do this by putting the whole saucepan in the sink and filling the sink with cold water), cover it and keep it in a cool place.

If you are simmering stock to reduce it, make sure you don't season it first as this can result in a very salty stock.

The other thing I find helps when freezing stock is to label and date it, adding any information like "needs straining" or "very concentrated"...

HTH

MsB

champys

It can also be useful - if you have some stock left over after filling your freezer containers - to freeze a little in an ice-cube tray. For those moments when you only need a little bit of stock, like a stir-fry for example, and you don't want to de-frost a whole pint.