Making your own chicken stock is easy
Lately, I have been cooking a whole bird. The cost of a whole, organic bird is only $1.99 per pound! (Compared with sometimes $7.99 per pound for organic chicken breasts!) I discovered that cooking a whole bird is not as intimidating as it seems.
(1) I cook it at 400 degrees, 30 minutes up, 30 minutes down, 30 minutes up. Easy-peasy, delicious.
(2) But what to do with it after the first, initial dinner? Well, at our house, I have decided that the next night is devoted to the leftover meat. That is, I take all the meat off of it by hand (about a 5-10 minute process) and either make a casserole with it or simple put some mexican seasoning on it and make it chicken faijta night!
The next day, that is my third day with a bird carcass (3), I throw ALL THE BONES into a pot with a bunch of water, 2 tbs vinegar, two bay leaves, and possibly some celery, onions and/or carrots if I’m feeling like making a fuss. Then I let it boil for 6-24 hours. I usually go for 6-8 hours and call it a day.
A lost tradition in our throw away culture is making this amazingly healthy chicken stock. Gelatin, minerals, fat, all goodness.
We like to eat this delicious soup — adding our leftover chicken or other easy cut vegetables — or you can save it in your fridge for up to a week (or freeze it!) for casserole recipes, etc — whatever you would use the store bought stuff for.
See “Broth is Beautiful” by the Weston A. Price Foundation for more information.
Thanks for the great recipe. My own chicken stock made a big difference in my recovery lately from a nasty virus!
I featured your recipe on my blog today. Hope you stop by the blog today and link up more great posts! http://likemamalikedaughter.blogspot.com/2013/03/nifty-thrifting-at-eco-kids-tuesday.html
Thanks so much Hannah :) Another perk is that my son loves drinking it from his sippy cup!!