My roommate likes to buy whole roast chickens and eat them over the course of the week. She’s done it for a while now, but it was only two weeks ago that I had the brilliant idea of turning the carcasses into stock. They’re not very large chickens, so they don’t produce very much stock, but it’s so worth having the stock on hand to make rice or a heartier ramen.
I make my stock in a 6-quart Dutch oven. I got it off Amazon to make sourdough, but it’s handy for soup. Since making stock requires starting with a lot of water, if you’re doubling or otherwise increasing this recipe you probably want use a bigger pot. I’m only using one, so it’s the perfect size (or even a little too large).
There are a lot of ingredients, but I think I actually might prefer the way simpler stock I made last week to the one I made last night. If you want to try the simpler version, just skip the carrots and celery. The carrots and celery provide sweetness to the stock, but I love a good, no-fuss, meaty broth.
Ingredients
1 roast chicken carcass, about 8 oz of bones and skin
1/2 large onion (any color), quartered
4-5 cloves garlic, cut in half
1 tbsp thyme
generous amount of salt and pepper
bunch of parsley, about 8 stalks
(optional) 1/2 large carrot, about 1 cup diced
(optional) 2 stalks celery, about 1 cup diced
4 quarts water
- Rip/chop up the chicken carcass into manageable pieces
- Combine everything in a pot
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, or until broth is reduced
I like to reduce the broth until it’s thick enough to gelatinize in the fridge. Not for any particular reason, I just think it’s kind of cool. It might also help it keep better. Once the fat solidifies at the surface, you can skim it off (or keep it for flavor).
You can add this broth to your ramyun or as a substitute for water to make flavorful rice. It’s also great by itself (diluted with water). You can use it as a simple base for noodles, too. Lots of things to explore!