For a long time homemade stock was something I knew I should make but always made excuses to continue using stock cubes. I finally hit the point where I knew my recipes were suffering because of it and I also wanted to have a more wholesome approach to cooking.
For years, I’ve read about how easy it is to make your own stock but until I tried it myself, I didn’t quite believe it. All you need is a few hours at home and a couple of standard ingredients.
This stock uses the bones and carcass of a roasted chicken, along with some celery, carrot, onion and herbs. All you need to do is add the ingredients to a large pot, bring the water to the boil and then simmer gently for a couple of hours. It really is that simple.
You can freeze portions to use in recipes like soup and stews. I used this stock for a roasted vegetable soup and the depth of flavour was noticeably enhanced. It brings a delicious richness of flavour to the food and a real bonus for me is that there is no added salt.
- Bones of chicken carcass
- 1 white onion
- 2 carrots
- 4 stems celery
- One handful of thyme
- One handful of rosemary
- Chop the vegetables and add to large pot along with the chicken bones
- Cover with water until the top of the carcass is covered
- Bring water to the boil and then simmer gently for two or three hours
- Leave stock to cool in the pot, then strain and then store in glass jars either in the fridge or freezer
