- Submitted by Dahlia
(Homemade Chicken Broth)
Making chicken stock at home is not something that everyone does often. Most people just prefer to get the boxed or canned ones or use a bouillon cube. I used to do the same until last year. Nowadays, I make a big batch of chicken stock once a month and freeze it.
Chicken stock can be made with the bones, wings and any pieces that you do not prefer in your curry. That’s how most people make it. I make stock little differently using a whole chicken fully. The stock that you get is very flavorful as so much of the chicken taste. This can be frozen and later used in making soups ,used as a base for gravies, sauces or used in cooking rice.
The chicken is also perfectly poached. You can shred the remaining poached chicken and store it in the freezer. Some of the dishes that I use poached chicken often at home are Chicken Baguette Sandwich, Kotthu Parotta, Chicken hot and sour soup, Chicken Pot Pie, Burrito, Chicken Manchow Soup, Chicken Fried Rice, Pizza, Noodles, Chopsuey etc.
Recipe for Homemade Chicken Stock
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 2 hours
Makes: about 10 cups of stock and 5 cups of shredded chicken
Ingredients
- Whole Chicken – about 1 kg size (cut into 4-5 big pieces)
- Water – app. 15 cups
- Onion – 1 big (cut into big chunks) or 10 shallots
- Garlic – 6 cloves
- Vegetable trimmings – like 1 celery stalk, 1 leek, 1 carrot, 2 stalks of cilantro or few mint leaves (add whatever is available)
- Whole peppercorns – 1 tsp
- Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Olive Oil – 1 tsp
Method
- Take a large pot, add the oil and the whole chicken. Cook it on high flame till the chicken browns at the bottom. Flip it and brown the other side too. This step is optional but adds so much extra flavor.
- Add the water such that the entire chicken is submerged. Also add the onion, garlic, vegetable trimmings, peppercorns, cumin seeds, salt and turmeric powder.
- Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for the next 2 hours.
- Cool it for another one hour. Remove the chicken pieces and keep aside.
- Strain the remaining stock using a sieve or a cheese cloth.
- Pour in individual boxes. Cool it in the refrigerator for half a day. You will see the fat solidifying in the top. Remove it with a spoon and discard it.
- Now you can freeze the boxes or refrigerate it. With refrigeration, you have to use it in the next 3 days. If you freeze it immediately, it stays good for 3-4 months.
- Now coming to the cooked chicken, it is perfectly poached and can be used for various dishes. Take each chicken piece, remove the skin and carefully shred the meat off. I personally like to freeze them in small portions in Ziploc bags.
Detailed Steps for making Homemade Chicken Stock
Take a large stock pot and heat some oil. You may add the chicken whole or cut into 4-5 big pieces. Add the chicken to the hot oil so that the outside gets roasted. Flip the pieces and brown the other side also. This step is optional but adds an extra flavor and also lends a nice color to the stock. Add enough water to cover the entire chicken. Add the onion, garlic, any vegetable trimmings that you may have, peppercorns, cumin seeds, salt and turmeric powder.
Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Simmer for the next 1.5 to 2 hours.
The stock is now ready. Switch off and let it cool it for another one hour or so.
Remove the chicken pieces and keep it aside. We will deal with it next.
Strain the remaining stock using a sieve or a cheese cloth to remove any chicken or vegetable pieces.
Now we have a clear chicken stock. This will be so tasty to have as a soup. You can also make Kozhi rasam with this.
I usually pour in individual boxes and refrigerate for few hours. The fat that floats on top can be removed using a spoon. Once this is removed you can store it for later use.
If you refrigerate, you can use it in the next 3 days. If frozen, it stays good for 3-4 months. You can use this anytime for recipes that call for it. Another option is to freeze in ice cubes. Once frozen, you can remove the cubes and put them in ziploc bags. This way you can use as many cubes as needed.
Now coming to the cooked chicken, it is perfectly poached chicken.
Once it is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones. Shred the meat into small pieces as shown.
The bones and skin can be discarded.
The shredded meat can be divided into small portion size and stored in ziploc bags or small boxes. This comes in handy to include in other dishes any time.
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