Chicken Stock

Winter heralds ruminations of risottos, soups, hearty pies, tagines, stews....And all these wintry dishes require the addition of  a flavoursome stock.  I make chicken stock right throughout winter and keep freezer bags of it in my freezer.  Some recipes call for the chicken bones and vegies to be roasted first, for a deeper flavour.  I find this recipe with everything thrown in with aplomb, produces a decent stock.  Regardless, however you make it, home made stock is always going to taste infinitely better than the stock powder or the vacuum sealed liquid packs from the supermarket.  So pick up your favourite book, a glass of wine and inhale the delicious aroma as your stockpot of liquid magic bubbles away for the next couple of hours. Makes about 2 litres


2 kilos of chicken carcasses
500 grams of chicken necks
about 10 stalks of parsley
2 bay leaves
1 onion, quartered
1 carrot, chopped up roughly
2 celery stalks, cut up
10 peppercorns

Put all ingredients into a large saucepan or stockpot and cover by up to 7 cm with water.  And just let it simmer, covered, for about 2 hours. I don't skim or worry about the fat whilst it's cooking as according to my guru, Maggie Beer, it removes the flavour.  After this period of simmering, strain the stock through a sieve into a bowl.  Let cool before placing in the fridge.  Once cold, you'll notice a fatty layer has collected at the top.  Remove with a spoon and pour the liquid into a measuring jug.  I usually measure out 500 ml and put into 4 labelled freezer bags.