Best chicken stock ever! Perfect recipe for those with herb gardens.

[HotPepperQueen]

2 whole chickens

1 handful parsley

4 sprigs rosemary

8 sprigs thyme

5 sprigs dill

8 bay leaves

1 head garlic- halved lengthwise

3 large onions- quartered

5 carrots- cut into 4 pieces

3 parsnips- cut into 4 pieces

5 stalks celery- cut into 4 pieces

1 handful whole peppercorns

1 handful salt

2 pinches whole yellow mustard seed

Water



In a large stock pot, add 3 quarts of water and add everything but the chicken. Heat and stir until the salt mostly dissolves. Add the two chickens and cover with water until there is about 3 inches of water above the chicken. Cook for 1 1/2 hours and check the chicken for doneness. If it is not pink in any areas, shred the meat off the carcass and add the bones back to the pot. If it isn't done, put the chicken back in until it is finished. Use the meat in soups, hot dishes, etc. Cook the stock for 4 more hours. Let the stock sit until just warm. Scoop out as much of the vegetable matter as possible. Strain the stock through a sieve two times. Add the stock back to the pot and let it cool off over night in a refrigerator. The next day, skim off the fat and discard. Heat the stock back up and add to hot jars leaving one inch of headspace. Wipe rim with a paper towel moistened with vinegar. Center lid on jar and screw the band down tight. Place jars in pressure canner and adjust water level, lock lid, and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Vent steam for 10 minutes, then close vent. Continue heating to achieve 10lbs pressure. Process pint jars for 20min and quart jars for 25 min. Turn off heat and let pressure return to 0 naturally. Wait 2 minutes longer, then open vent. Remove canner lid and wait 10 minutes then remove jars, cool, and store.



*If you don't have a canner, I have also froze the stock and it tastes the same- it just doesn't last as long. Freeze in plastic containers. It will last about 3 months this way.

 

[skeeter9]

That sounds super-yummy! Thanks for posting this, HotPepperQueen.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I do it a bit differently but I use older chickens I raised and processed myself. By older, I am often talking about fully grow roosters and hens. With my older birds they will not be really tender enough to eat unless they are cooked quite a bit longer. I think HPQ's recipe assumes store bought chicken.

I put the necks, backs, wings, feet, gizzard, and heart in a large crock pot, along with many different veggies and herbs. I fill it to the top with water. I always put bay leaf, carrots, celery, peppercorns, salt, and onions, then add other things as I feel like and depending on what I have. Possiblities include chives, leeks, oregano, and basil in addition to those the Queen listed. I think lots of fresh herbs straight from the garden add somethng to the stock.

I realize there is a YUK! factor with some people with the feet and those might not be for everyone. I scald the feet when I process the chicken. The toenails twist right off. The skin peels off. That gets them clean enough for me to get beyond the YUK! factor.

I put these in the stock pot for maybe ten hours on low. The meat practically gets cooked off the bone. It's a bit of a pain to go through and pick it off because there are a lot of small bones, but that meat is tremendous in casseroles, tacos, soups, or chicken salads. Hot or cold dishes. It is great. I freeze the meat in 1 cup measurements in those vacuum bags. It lasts a long time.

I'll do three of these batches, back to back. The first overnight, the next day, then the third batch overnight with three different carcasses. I usually get about 15 to 16 pints of broth from these three batches.

I'll strain these through a small mesh collander but I put 4 to 6 layers of cheese cloth in there too. That gets most of the solid stuff out. The cooked veggies and herbs go to the chickens or the compost heap. After I strain the first couple of batches they go in the refrigerator. You can scoop a lot of the fat off the top of these. I use a fat separator to get the rest of the fat out. A trick is that the fat separates out better in th efat separators if the liquid is warm. It's a physics thing. There is more energy in a warm liquid than a cold liquid.

Then process exactly as HPQ said. I increase my pressure to 11 pounds due to altitude. It depends some on the age of the chicken used, but a lot of the time, this broth will congeal when stored in the fridge.

Lots of different ways to do something like this and get something delicious. It's not just the broth. That cooked chicken is delicious. The main thing I'll mention is to watch out for the difference in older free range chicken and the ones you buy at the grocxery. The store-bought chicken is young and cooks up pretty fast. Mine doesn't.

 

[HotPepperQueen]

Yes, I use fresh chickens from the store but only if it is on a really good sale. Otherwise I use home raised meat. If I were to use old hens, I wouldn't even bother taking out the bird for the meat- waaay too tough. Ridgerunner- that sounds really yummy! Never thought of using the wings and feet. Kinda creeped me out at first but then I realized it makes sense to use EVERY part of the animal. Thanks for sharing!