Stock

Well, I felt like the proverbial Domestic Goddess as I put my tired self to bed last night! As well as the requisite chicken korma for dinner there was a steaming loaf of freshly baked seedy bread and three litres of stock. Allow me to explain...

Over the last four months I have been collecting up chicken bones and scraps in the freezer for a day when I would have enough to make stock. (I realise this sounds completely gross.) However I did not account for the fact that by the time I had enough bones the weather would be heating up and not ideal conditions for boiling up massive stock pots on the hob! With yesterday’s cold snap, I though I best seize the moment and get on with it. 

The first time I made stock I really enjoyed the process, chunking things up, throwing them in a pot and simmering away. The result is so delicate, it’s a whole different product to the powdered stuff, it actually has flavour rather than just salt. You find yourself getting really selective about what to cook, you don’t want all this effort to go to waste! Where’s a recipe for a nice clear soup, or a subtle risotto? Something where you’ll really notice the difference.

I usually make the stock “recipe” in Nigella Lawson’s “How to Eat”, just because it was the first stock I ever made and I’m comfortable with it. Last time I made Maggie Beer’s Golden Chicken Stock from “Maggie’s Harvest” which was also delicious. But this time I didn’t feel up to roasting up all the ingredients in the oven first, and besides I didn’t have any vegies to roast! So I hit the Delicious magazines and found the recipe for a stock we made last year when making Chicken Korma Pies. The ingredients list was short and sweet and that won me over.

approximately 2kg of chicken bones 

2 leeks, white part, roughly sliced

3 bay leaves

1 tsp salt

4 cm of fresh ginger, sliced

4 cloves of garlic, crushed with the flat blade of a knife

Don’t bother peeling the ginger or garlic, put all ingredients in a big stock pot, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer for an hour. Remove from heat and strain immediately into a bowl. I strained it through one of my husband’s hankies which removed all the murky muck that usually accumulates in the bottom of the bowl. Put in the fridge.

The next day remove the solidified fat from the top, (I’ve kept this and put it in the freezer to make dumplings with) and scoop into plastic bags or containers and freeze. I usually make 1 or 2 cup sizes so you can easily get what you need for a recipe.