Friday, January 09, 2009

ONCE YOU'VE MADE HOMEMADE STOCK...


Once you've made homemade stock...
You may never go bock.
Yes...I know my jingle doesn't really make sense, but "stock" doesn't rhyme with "back"!
But the message is clear...
Homemade stock rules!
And is SO simple to make!
I have bought "Kitchen Basics" brand of chicken stock for several years now, and always recommend it in any of my recipes that call for broth or stock. It is, by FAR, the best stock on the market.
However...and this is a huge HOWEVER....
It cost $3.29 per quart!
Now, most of my soup recipes call for a minimum of 2 quarts of stock, which brings the final cost of a simple tomato soup to almost $9.00.
Far too much, considering everything going on.
So, I went to Food Network's web site and asked for homemade chicken stock recipes, and found a couple that I liked.
I actually combined Tyler Florence's and Ina Garten's recipes, and came up with something FAR better than ANY I have ever purchased.
Here's the basic recipe I used...

10 chicken backs
3 turkey necks
3 large, yellow onions, UNpeeled and quartered
8 carrots, UNpeeled and cut in chunks
1 bunch celery with leaves, cut into chunks
3 turnips, cut into 6 pieces each (Ina used parsnips, Tyler used turnips...I like turnips, so that's what I used)
1/3 bunch parsley (I try to have fresh parsley on hand at all times...adds such a nice fresh flavor to my finished dishes)
20 springs fresh thyme (I have a pot growing on the kitchen counter...but if I didn't, I would add 2 teas. dried thyme)
2 teas. dried dill (recipe called for 20 springs fresh, but I wasn't going to spend $ on dill)
1 head garlic, UNpeeled and cut into 6 pieces
1 TBL whole, black peppercorns
kosher salt to taste (I didn't add the salt, as I prefer to add it to the soup as I am making it)

Now, here is where I combined the recipes. Tyler Florence says to roast the veggies and meat for 40 min in a 450 F oven, THEN add your water and simmer. Ina doesn't roast her veggies, she just puts it all in a stock pot and simmers away.

I roasted all the veggies, tossed with about 2-3 TBL olive oil (minus the herbs and s&p) for an hour, then added them to the chicken parts in a huge stock pot, along with about 8 quarts of water, and the peppercorns and herbs.

Simmered for about 4-5 hours, then set outside on the deck in a foot of snow, to cool down quickly.

Strained the stock using my colander, into a smaller stock pot, then set in the garage overnight. (I covered the pot, then as an extra precaution against critters, I duck-taped the lid down!)

This morning I skimmed as much of the fat off the top as I could, then poured the stock into some wonderful soup containers we purchased from our local chinese restaurant for only 25 cents a piece!


Finished product...5 and 1/2 quarts of stock, safely tucked away in my freezer for next weeks pot of my knock-off recipe for Zuppa Toscana, from the Olive Garden!

Trust me when I say, a child could make this stock, and it is delicious to boot!

Tell me...
how are YOU saving money in the kitchen these days?

Love,
Cindy


Pin It!

9 comments:

savvycityfarmer said...

I'm scrounging around for the stock pot....oh there it is.
I have the stuff to do this!!!!
Simmer, simmer!

Angela said...

Oh yum. It would be good to just drink the broth on a snowy day with a hunk of bread. Sounds good NOW. Saving here...reuse tea bags, make our own instant cocoa mix (we drink tons), buying distilled water instead of bottled, chicken in bulk. There are just the 2 of us here now, so we dont eats lots.

Farmchick said...

I love homemade stock...and I won't go bock either!! ha ha I enjoy making it too....gives you a sort of satisfaction!

Oh and going to your question you left back at my blog...North Dakota--neighboring your daughters home.

Katie Zeller said...

I'm not....
Living in a rental house with a wretched kitchen and no equipment is outrageously expensive. I can't wait until we can move into our house and I have my own kitchen again. Then I'm going to make this stock. I love adding the turnips!
And Happy New Year!

kansasrose said...

Sounds and looks amazing! Thanks Cyn for the recipe! In this kitchen 'o mine.... Can you say BEANS the musical fruit???? Beans that are dried...beans that are fried beans that are plump beans that jump beans that are dark beans that are light beaNS that are smoked beans that keep me awake at night! navy beans! pinto beans! black beans! red beans! butter beans! garbonzo beans! boston baked! and texas refried! beans is what I got and I ain't got no company 'round for awhile cause I LOVES ME BEANS Homestyle and mild. amen.

Homemaker's Heart said...

HI!! Your blog looks great! I am tagging you, you can read on my blog. It's simple, but you came to mind. Glad to see a smile!

God's peace,
Dee

Rhonda Jean said...

That stock is similar to one I make, with beef bones. It's much tastier and healthier than the bought stuff. And you're right, you never go back.

Parisienne Farmgirl said...

WOW - ironic. I am a die hard for make your own. It even changes the taste of my risotto.
Two weeks ago I made some that I swear a work of art. I keep my carcases (free range/organic of course which is why I don't make it as much as I want cause they are so dang much!) ...from my roast chickens and use those, onions, carrots, celery, herbes de provence and the sa-weet simmer setting on my stove and let it sit there about 10 hours, then I strain it--- et voila!!! It's like butta!!!!
Your'e 100% right - anything else just becomes gross and over salted!
Your recipe sounds more thought out then mine - bet its great!

Unknown said...

That's the way to do it, Cyn. I love buying whole chickens just so I can make soup from the carcass. I bought some BIG NAME stock recently - I mean this one has a famous chef's face on it - and it was awful.