Great stock makes such a big difference to a dish. With good stock, your soups and sauces will taste so much better.
While I’ve sketched out a specific recipe here, it’s pretty flexible. I’ll often toss in any vegetables that are on the turn for a bit of extra flavor.
The stock needs to be refrigerated if you’re not using it immediately. It also stores really well for months in the freezer.
But it’s also important not to move the stock directly to the refrigerator. Hot stock is mostly water, and when it comes off the stove you’ll need a ton of energy to bring it down to refrigerator temperature. So much energy that you’ll meaningfully raise the overall temperature of everything else in the refrigerator. If you’re trying to be extremely fastidious, I’d chill down the stock over an ice bath until it’s refrigerator temperature, about 4 °C or 38 °F. I usually leave the stock out at room temperature to cool down (and skip the ice bath), which gets most of the way there.
Ingredients
- 6 liters cold water
- 2 chicken carcasses, disassembled
- 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
- 3 carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, quartered
- 5 black peppercorns, whole
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 stalks parsley
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a large stock pot. Bring the pot to a boil, and then lower the heat to a simmer.
Simmer the stock for 4-5 hours, periodically skimming any scum from the top.
Strain the stock, and use it or store it for future use.