Homemade chicken stock made with leftover cooked chicken bones and vegetables. Great tasting stock filled with flavor and nutrients. For more helpful tips and answers to common questions check the full article.
Remove as much meat from the cooked chicken as possible. Set these aside to add to your finished soup or to enjoy in another meal.
If you saved the giblets and neck before roasting the chicken, add those to the soup as well. DO NOT add liver.
Add chicken carcass, coarsely chopped vegetables, vegetable peelings, fridge veggies, tomato sauce, herbs, vinegar and spices in large soup pot. Add Parmesan rind if using.
Cover with enough cold water to cover everything by no more than one inch of water. Too much water will result in less flavourful stock. (approx 6-8 cups)
Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and set lid askew or remove entirely to allow more liquid to evaporate and get a more concentrated stock. simmer for 2 hours to get build full flavour.
Taste at various stages (careful it will be really hot!) to see how it is progressing.
Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes. Remove some of the large pieces and dispose. Strain remainder through fine mesh strainer.
Let cool for 1 hour then refrigerate for several hours or overnight until soup has set and fat has hardened on top. Skim off the layer of fat if you wish.
Keep in fridge for 4 days. Freeze in convenient portion sizes for 6-12 months.
Makes 4-6 cups of stock depending on lid on or off, amount of water to start, type of veggies and how long it simmers.
Notes
*If carcass is quite small, consider saving it in the freezer until next time, then combine 2 small carcasses for more flavour. You can also add extra wings, legs, giblets, necks, etc.*Potato or sweet potato peels will make stock cloudy. **Tomato products will change the overall flavor of your stock, but add nice body. ***Limit strong tasting vegetables so they don't overpower the flavor of your stock (beets, broccoli, fennel, asparagus, rutabaga, parsnips, cabbage, cauliflower etc.) Starchy veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash will make your stock cloudy. ****Make this in a crock pot. Simply toss everything in a crock-pot, turn to low and cook for 8 hours (4-5 hours on high).Nutrient content will vary with ingredients used.