Homemade Chicken Stock
The introduction of meat into my own daughter’s eating felt extremely daunting. However, the progression from pureed fruits and vegetables to protein is an important one; especially for babies between the ages of 6 months and 2 years.
The most effective way of adding protein into my children’s diets was making this homemade chicken stock recipe: I added it into vegetable purees, to enrich them. Then into more complex stews, risottos and sauces. Both my babies found it easy to digest and I was comforted in the knowledge that they were receiving the nutritional benefits of bone broth, which are numerous.
Making stock has now become a relaxing process and is a weekly ritual in itself - the prep time is no more than 10 minutes and once the stock has been brought up to the boil, cover it and place it in a low oven, then forget about it for a few hours.
You don’t need to do anything, until the stock has turned a beautiful golden colour. You then strain it, discard the chicken and vegetables which have imparted their goodness, and set aside the stock to cool. Making stock from scratch transformed both my cooking and my food. So, if I were to encourage you to give any recipe a go it would be this one.
ingredients
x1 whole organic chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
3-4 litres of filtered water
x4 large carrots, peeled and cut in half
x2 large onions, peeled and quartered
4 sticks of celery
3 small parsnips
2 leeks
1 sweet potato
25g (small bunch) fresh parsley
6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
large stock pot, with a tightly fitting lid
method
Preheat the oven to 170C fan oven. Prep all the vegetables: wash, peel, trim and cut into large chunks (use organic where possible). Then place the chicken pieces in a large cooking pot. (Jointing the chicken means that all the chicken is submerged in the cooking process. I find a whole chicken can mean a part of the chicken sits above the water line, you want to ensure you are getting all the goodness from the chicken).
Next, add the vegetables, herbs and peppercorns; cover with cold water. Place on the stove, on a high heat and bring up to a boil. Once boiling, skim off any foam that rises to the surface and discard, trying not to remove too much of the cooking water. The stock is now ready for the oven.
Cover with a tight fitting lid, then cover with an extra layer of foil, you want to lock in all of the stock, and not loose liquid during the cooking process. Place in the preheated oven, for around 2 - 2.5 hours. I always check after 1 hour 30mins, if you need to add more water you can. Also if you would like to remove any chicken meat to use you can do so; either breast meat or thigh meat. Otherwise it overcooks. Then return the stock to the oven, for the rest of the cooking time.
By the end, the stock should be a lovely golden colour and the chicken and vegetables should be completely cooked and falling apart. Take the stock off the heat and immediately strain the liquid stock into a large bowl, you can now discard the carcass and vegetables. You should be left with a clear golden stock. Do not leave the stock unstrained and sitting on the side; this is not good cooking hygiene.
storing the homemade stock ~
Once cooled refrigerate the stock overnight. A layer of fat will have developed on the surface of the stock, skim off this fat with a large spoon and discard, this is much easier done once refrigerated. You will be left with a delicious light golden stock, which is ready to use. It can also be frozen in ice cube trays, which are really useful to add to your day-to-day’s cooking.