5.01.2009

freezing chicken stock

I recently learned about the merits of chicken stock. And have made batches twice in the last few months. I love the idea of not wasting the chicken carcass and boiling out all the nutrients possible!

Here's what I do:

- boil the chicken then take it out of the pot and take the meat off the bone

- put the bones back in the pot

- add a whole onion, quartered, skin and all

- add carrots and celery (I save the ends of these in the freezer until I make stock that way I am not wasting a perfectly good carrot)

- add some whole peppercorns

- add a little salt (I know, I know... not super healthy but I love it)

- add some bay leaves

Then just let it all boil... and boil and boil.

Drain well using a wire mesh strainer.

Pour the stock into pitchers and put in the fridge overnight.

Next day, skim the fat off the top.

Then... here's the best part... I pour approximately 1 cup of stock into plastic cups on a cookie sheet. Then I put the cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen I pop out the stock and store the chunks in freezer bags.

It's so helpful to not have to use a freezer bag for every cup of stock I want to freeze and it's very easy to just take out however many "cups" I need for a recipe.
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5 comments:

Buffie said...

I've done this using an ice cube tray. It's nice to be able to pull out just the amount of stock you need.

Jodi said...

I like this idea! I made chicken stock last week for the first time. This would work great for storing it!

Mom2fur said...

I always make stock from my chicken or turkey carcasses. Roast chicken/turkey makes excellent stock, too.
I just have to remember not to overfill my jars. Can't tell you how many jars I've broken because the soup expanded in the freezer. I like your idea best and will definitely try it.

Melissa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Melissa said...

Great idea! Like Mom2fur, I make stock out of roast chicken or turkey. I also add the pan drippings, which seems to boost the flavor and body of the stock.

Today was the first time I tried making turkey stock in my slow cooker. I hadn't planned to do that, but had some unscheduled errands, so I needed to let it simmer unattended.