stock making for catherine

ok normally i start with a stewing hen, if you buy one it may be called a hen or a stewing fowl
or a 'fowl for stewing' or fowl for fricassee

i try to get a big one 6-7 pounds at least
if you are using carcuss, it's a bit different so i'll start with fowl and end with carcuss

i use a 20 or 25 quart stock pot
fill it about 3/4 of the way up with cold water
i add a carrot or two, an onion ( a BIG ONE) two stalks of celery
and about 4 garlic cloves....try to make sure they are BIG ones as well
it they are tiny, i may use the whole head
a bit of freshly ground pepper corns
some fresh italian parsley (dried if you don't have fresh)
sometimes dill..not much though

add your chicken and a bit of kosher salt and set it to simmer
i skim off the foamy protein and feed that to the cats
i simmer for at least 3 hours.....but i prefer 5 or 6
and i add water as needed

when it's done i set it in the cold......either on the deck (during the winter-during the day)
or in the fridge
i do sometimes defat it
but my dad said always keep some of the fat and he was right as there are soluble vitamins in it

i either can or freeze it

you can puree the veggies with some of the broth for a 'cream' soup
i pick over the chicken well as the meat makes the BEST salad and sandwitches

now for some stocks i will roast the veggies ahead and then put them in and do the stock that way

as to a carcuss
you can brown them first, sometimes i do put the carcuss back in the roasting pan and brown them then deglaze them with water
sometimes i just toss it in the water as if it was a fresh whole fowl

it all depends on what i have on hand and what i have time for

some times i will simmer off the stock when it's done until it condenses and i will can that
or use that condensed stock with saute'd mushrooms as a concentrate.......canning it in 4oz jars for soups and sauces and gravies

does this help?

some folks add a teaspoon of vinegar to the stock as it's simmering to get some of the calcium out of the bones
you can do that.....it wont' taste any different

usually 3 quarts make a supper soup for us
the basic stock can be used for almost anything after..... all sorts of soups and such