Homemade Chicken or Turkey Stock

I use a lot of chicken or turkey stock in my cooking and whenever possible I try use homemade. Whenever I cook a turkey or even roast a chicken, I make stock. I used to think it took a lot of time and effort but it's really quite easy and one of those things that you can easily multi-task.

My original recipe comes from Michael Smith (a wonderful Canadian chef) with, you guessed it, a few tweaks.

The recipe makes about 3 or 4 quarts of stock and I often freeze it to use later in other recipes like One Pot Pasta or the beginning of a quick soup.

Chicken or Turkey Stock

Ingredients:
Chicken or turkey carcass
1 large onion, peeled and rough chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and rough chopped
2 or 3 celery stalks, rough chopped
2 or 3 bay leaves
Fresh thyme, if I have it
Salt to taste (not too much)
8 or 10 whole peppercorns
4 or 5 whole cloves

Directions:

• Toss everything into a stock pot or large pot and cover with cold water. Begin to heat to high and when it is just set to boil, turn the heat down to a simmer. 
• Let the water simmer for about two hours. Don't worry about the impurities because these will be skimmed off at the end.
• After two hours, skim the foam off the top. 
• Strain the broth. Best to do this over the sink to avoid messes. 
• Discard the boiled carcass, vegetables, and spices/herbs. 
• Let the broth cool to room temperature before refrigerating. 
• After the broth reaches room temperature, I usually put the pot into the fridge to chill allowing any remaining fat to harden on the surface making it easy to remove. 
• Then I divide up the broth between freezer containers usually freezing in 4 cup portions.

Lately, I saw a great suggestion on MarthaStewart.com on freezing stock in muffin tins. Once the stock is frozen, just pop them out and store in the freezer in a resealable container. This easily accommodates those recipes that call for just one cup of stock. It's also a great way to save an leftover store bought stock.