Recipe for a Rainy Day

It's raining.

Jack rode his bike to school anyway. The kid is unstoppable.

Grey skies and damp air always remind me of my mom. For some reason, I associate rainy days with the smell of good things on the stove. This morning I turned on my favorite playlist and decided it was a soup day.

I am in the midst of turning this:

Into this:

Glorious homemade chicken stock. It won't actually be ready to eat until tomorrow, but Creed will be happy, because the day I make stock, we have Chicken Pot Pie for supper. His favorite. It's nice because it's one of the few meals that I can take a whole day to make, and everyone loves it. I don't get any grumbling at the table. I use Alton Brown's method for the stock. Alton Brown is my go-to expert. He was America's Test Kitchen before I was aware there even was an America's Test Kitchen. I love knowing the science and the WHY? behind what I'm making.

Chicken Stock is easy to make. Basically, one tosses a few ingredients into a pot and simmers them over medium-low heat for a few hours. That's about it.

For those of you who would like more complete instructions, I'll save you the trouble of linking over to the swirling vortex that is the Food Network (tell me I'm not the only one who loves to read recipes), and post the recipe here, with a few notes of my own in one of my favorite colors.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds chicken carcasses, including necks and backs (I have used leftover carcasses from roasted chickens that I froze, and then defrosted when I was ready to make stock. Today, I am just using a whole chicken. Don't try using boneless, skinless breasts. They don't have any flavor to lend to the stock. Drumsticks, thighs, and wings work well.)
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2
• 4 ribs celery, cut in 1/2
• 1 leek, white part only, cut in 1/2 lengthwise (I have omitted the leek before, and I regretted it. The leek adds an extra punch of flavor to the stock.)
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• 10 sprigs fresh parsley with stems
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 to 10 peppercorns
• 2 whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 gallons cold water

Directions

Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs and spices in 12-quart stockpot. Set opened steamer basket directly on ingredients in pot and pour over water. Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. (If you skip the skimming of the scum, you will not have glorious, clear-amber stock at the end. The scum is fat, so if you don't skim it off, you are going to eat it, and chicken fat? Yuck.) Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.

Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees. (At this point, I put mine right into my storage jars leaving enough space at the top for expansion when it freezes, then skim the rest of the scum off the top the next day.) Place in refrigerator overnight.


Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.

Are you going to make this? Have you made it before? Do you have any ways to tweak this recipe and make it more your own? What do you do with your stock once you've made it?

The Violent Femmes just started playing on my playlist. I'm off to dance with George. Have a wonderful day!