Chicken Stock

Winter time is the time to make stock. It has a comforting aroma, adds moisture to the dry air, and gives you something to do with all of those laying hens that are no longer producing. To save the stock, place it in pint-sized jars and process in a hot water bath or pressure cooker, according to the directions for your canner.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 stewing hens. The best chicken to use is one that is about 2 years old and has stopped laying.
4 - 5 carrot tops or carrots, if you don't have tops.
2 - 3 onions, washed and cut in half
3 - 4 cloves of garlic - no need to skin these, just toss them in.
2 - 3 T of kosher salt
Some black pepper or 1 - 2 dried spicy peppers if you like spice
1 - 2 bay leaves (I pick these off of my bay leaf plant. I use the ones that are starting to dry up or look weak)
Some celery (if you have it but I usually don't)

Rinse the chickens and place all ingredients in a large pot. I use a 24 Q stock pot and fill it until the chickens are covered. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn down to low. Allow the stock to cook for 3 - 4 hours, uncovered.

Place a colander over another large pot and strain the stock. The chicken should fall apart at this point. Put the broth back on the stove, along with the bay leaves & garlic (squeeze the meat out of the skin and toss it in and it will dissolve.

Let the chicken cool and then remove the meat that you want to remove. The meat should be really tender now and can be served for dinner, saved to make chicken sandwiches, made into chicken pot pie, anything.

At this point, you can can your stock or freeze it. I don't have room in the freezer, so I can it. I also don't have a lot of room on my shelves so I continue to cook the stock for 2 - 3 more days! After I separate the meat from the bones, I toss the bones back into the pot and continue to simmer the stock. At night I put it in the cold garage or fridge and in the morning I put it on the top of the wood stove. By the end, the stock is very concentrated. Strain the broth again and then pour into your clean jars. When I use a pint to cook with, I'll add water if I'm making soup or gravy.

The last time I made stock, I ended up with about 7 pint-sized jars. I did add a little water as the chicken simmered, to make sure the meat was always covered during the cooking process.

A tasty, organic, inexpensive alternative to store-bought stock!