Fall Comforts: Homemade Chicken Stock
In this guest post, Schoolhouse friend, Jay Bartholomew (also known as @seasonofsalt) takes us through one of the easiest and most rewarding Fall recipes: homemade chicken stock.
There is perhaps no more comforting smell than a pot of chicken stock gently simmering on a cool autumn day. Homemade chicken stock is vastly superior to store-bought and, with a little planning, less expensive. The store-bought stuff is lacking in both flavor and texture. Good flavor comes by extracting as much chicken essence as possible from the meat while complementing it with vegetables and aromatics. Good texture comes by extracting gelatin from the connective tissue which results in a full-bodied stock that sticks to your lips.
It’s important to understand that we are transferring chicken flavor from the chicken to the water and that means the chicken will be flavorless and destined for the compost bin. It’s rather wasteful. So instead of raw chicken this recipe utilizes chicken bones and scraps stored in the freezer until enough have accumulated, waiting to be given a second life as chicken stock.
