THE PUDDING INCIDENT

What have you been up to in the kitchen?

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Mm, mm, good and hearty chicken stock

Thank you to Marina for extending the invitation to me to share some yum with everyone. I hope I can come up with some good stuff that others will want to eat!

My first recipe is some good, hearty chicken stock. This is especially good to have on hand when you're feeling not-so-great and can be used in a multitude of recipes, from the predictable chicken noodle soup to less predictable fantastic mashed potatoes - and I'll try to post that recipe sometime soon.

Day 12: I guess there's one perk of being sick

That's my Lodge pot. It's just like a Le Creuset, except cheaper and just as good. I love my Lodge pot.

3 chicken legs/thighs, bone in
2 chicken feet (really!)
the butt of a bunch of celery
a few celery stalks with the leaves on them
3-4 large carrots, washed, unpeeled, cut into large chunks
1 large onion, quartered, unpeeled
4 cloves of garlic
1T black peppercorns
1T coriander seeds
1t ginger (powdered)
salt & white pepper to taste (I used quite a bit of salt, probably at least 3T).

Cover with water, bring to a shimmer - slightly less than a simmer and let cook for about 3 hours. Remove the vegetables and chicken; discard the vegetables and de-bone and shred the chicken for later use.

The stock is a lovely deep color and the flavor is just incredible. It's a great weekend project on a cold day when you don't feel like leaving the house.

You can pour the stock into ice cube trays and freeze for small servings to drop into a variety of things (it's great to boil frozen peas in), or freeze in several individual containers.