Countdown to Thanksgiving: Make Your Own Chicken Stock

It's the weekend before Thanksgiving and it seems like cold air is settling all over the country. So why not spend a few minutes in the kitchen and make your own chicken stock? You'll need it next week for your stuffing, could use it for the gravy and then can incorporate it into one of the leftover Thanksgiving recipes like this. It's easy and you'll be able to take control of the quality of your ingredients plus probably save a buck or two when you don't have to buy cans and cans of salty stuff at the grocery.

Some recipes call for deboning the chicken and roasting the bones before putting them in water with the aromatics. I make it easy on myself and just poach a whole chicken. It results in a rich, but not overpowering, stock. (Plus you'll have the chicken you need to make chicken salads like these.) Here's my tried and true method.

Homemade Chicken Stock
Makes approximately sixteen cups of stock.

1 roasting chicken, giblets removed from cavity (You can actually make a separate smaller, but richer batch of stock from the giblets if you'd like. Be careful though...the liver can add an unwanted bitterness.)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into several large chunks
3 ribs celery, cut into large pieces
1 onion, peeled and quartered
8-10 peppercorns or generous pinch of black pepper or generous pinch of garlic pepper
If you have them, a bay leaf or two and a couple sprigs fresh thyme

Place all ingredients in large stock pot. Cover with water. Simmer over low heat for one hour. (If you'd like and are worried about overcooking chicken, you can take it out after thirty minutes. I leave it in.) Periodically, skim top of broth for impurities. After one hour, strain stock through sieve, reserving chicken and discarding vegetables.

To remove fat, place stock in refrigerator overnight. Fat will congeal in thin layer on top and be easier to discard.

Use within three or four days or freeze. I always make plenty and freeze in one cup measures; then I can take out exactly what I need as I need it.