How do i make my own chicken stock?

NBirdy

Hi, I'm just starting to read the OS board, and have been totally inspired! I'm determined to cut our shopping bill by at least 1/4 over the next month or so :j

My problem today is: we bought a chicken yesterday, hot cooked from a supermarket at reduced price, and it fed me and the kids last night. I've picked most of the meat off, saving big bits for chicken in sauce with rice tonight for us all, and the smaller bits for a soup. I've read on here about boiling the carcass for stock, which I'd like to do BUT

How much water goes in the pot?
Do I just dump the bones in and boil them?
How long for?
Then do I need to sieve the liquid or jut go fishing for the bones?
How exactly do I turn this into soup
Can I freeze any leftovers or is that reheating the chicken too many times?

I've got a couple of carrots, some potatoes, a sweet potato, onions and red lentils. Have no slow cooker (do have a pressure cooker) and have VERY limited kitchen facilities (i.e. no worktop etc) and - obviously - very little 'proper cooking' experience.

If anyone could point me towards a thread with an idiot's guide I'd be most grateful :T. I've had a search of (lots of!) recipe threads but can't find anything this basic :embarasse

Nargleblast

Just cover the carcase with water, and if you like add an onion and a carrot (chopped roughly), maybe some fresh herbs if you have any. Bring to boil and then turn heat down so it simmers for about 30 minutes or so (some people do it for longer). Leave it covered to go cold. When cold, sieve it into another container. You can either boil it a while more, to reduce it, or freeze it in usable quantities. To make soup, find a recipe you like the sound of and use the stock in place of water. most soups start off with a base of chopped onions fried till soft, then other chopped vegetables and seasonings, then the stock. Bring to boil and simmer about 30 minutes. Play around with the seasoning a bit till it tastes right. You can if you wish liquidise it or sieve it to make a smooth soup, or just serve it chunky. Onions, carrots, and sweet potato will make a very nice soup.

NBirdy

Thank you thank you!! :T Off to do the chicken now. Will it make more than I need for one soup then?

CCP

This going to sound a bit silly, but it depends how much water you cook the carcass in, and how much soup you want to make! I use my biggest saucepan for making stock and find I usually end up with enough strained liquid to make two small batches of soup (I only make small batches as otherwise I get bored with it by the second meal!). You might end up with more or less stock, depending on whether your saucepan is bigger or smaller than mine: once you've made your first batch you'll know next time how much you get.

MrsBartolozzi

If you are making the stock this evening you might like to leave it in the pan to cool then put the pan in the fridge all night. In the morning the fat will have settled on the top and is easy to remove. I find stock can be a bit greasy if not enough fat is removed.
Oh and in case you get a shock - home made stock is jelly-like, that's from the bones. (I remember being rather disgusted at my first attempt and thought I'd got it wrong )

Oh and once you have sieved out the bones, you might find lots of little bits of chicken you missed first time round.

mrbadexample

Bash the carcass with a rolling pin or similar to break open the bones first.

Penelope_Penguin

NBirdy wrote: »

If anyone could point me towards a thread with an idiot's guide I'd be most grateful :T. I've had a search of (lots of!) recipe threads but can't find anything this basic :embarasse

Itlooks like you've pretty much had your question answered, so I'll add this to the existing chicken stock thread

Penny. x

pennyshahin_2

I had a chicken thigh left so decided to add few spices etc etc to make my own stock but is it unhealthy with all the fat from the chicken, trying to lead a healthy lifestyle.

katylou6180

If you are worried about the fat content, then either leave to cool and skim it off, if that's not possible a good tip is to get a spoon with ice cubes on, run that over the top and the fat as it cools will attach to the back of the spoon-it's a bit fiddly and may take a few goes but should get any nasties off:)

Wonder_Girl

why is there fish fat in your chicken stock?

I let my chicken stock cool and then scrape any fat off the top