Chicken Stock

Ingredients

3 lbs chicken legs, backs, wings, or thighs

1 T Vegetable or neutral oil

One onion, chopped

8 cups water

2 teaspoons salt

2 bay leaves (optional)

Directions

Chicken stock can be refrigerated for up to four days or frozen for up to one month.

1. START WITH FLAVORFUL CUTS,

IN SMALL PIECES

Use meat cleaver to hack 3 pounds chicken legs, backs, and/or wings into 2-inch pieces. WHY? Small pieces of chicken release their flavorful juices quickly, which helps keep the simmering time short, and with the bones cut, the marrow inside readily seeps into the liquid, giving the stock rich flavor and full body. Backs are usually sold at a nominal price specifically for making stock. If backs are not available, legs and wings work just as well but will cost a bit more. If you're making a soup that requires chicken meat, buy a whole chicken, reserve the two breast halves for the soup, and then hack the rest of the chicken to make the stock.

2. SAUTÉ TO BUILD FLAVOR

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Lightly brown chicken pieces on both sides in 2 batches and transfer to large bowl.

WHY? Sautéing the cut-up chicken parts until lightly browned is the first step in building flavor. The browning contributes lightly roasted notes that add complexity to the stock. If you're work- ing with a whole chicken and have reserved the two breast pieces, brown them first to render fat from the skin and then set them aside on a plate before sautéing the cut-up chicken parts. Use a Dutch oven with at least an 8-quart capacity.

3. USE A MINIMUM OF FLAVOR ENHANCERS Add 1 chopped onion to fat left in pot and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.

WHY? Most recipes try to camouflage the weak chicken flavor with a lot of vegetables and herbs. But if you use the right chicken parts, very little is needed to enhance flavor-just an onion as well as bay leaves and some salt (the latter two get added later, with the water). Sautéing the onion tames its harshness and brings out its natural sweetness.

4. SWEAT TO EXTRACT JUICE

Return chicken pieces (but not breasts, if using) and any accumulated juices to pot, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasion 20 minutes. ally, until chicken has released its juices, about

WHY? The goal of this step is not to attain addi- tional browning, but to gently cook the chicken and draw out its flavorful juices. Sweating-that is, cooking over low heat with the lid on (stirring Occasionally)-does this in just 20 minutes.

5. SIMMER GENTLY, COVERED

Add 8 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 bay leaves and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to gentle simmer, and cook, skimming as needed. 20 minutes longer. until stock tastes rich and flavorful, about

WHY? The stock is covered while it simmers to prevent evaporation, a departure from most traditional recipes that indicate stock should be simmered uncovered. Most chicken stocks must be simmered for at least 2 hours, but our stock needs only 20 minutes of simmering. Keep the stock at a simmer, not a boil. Boiling can cause fat droplets to become suspended in the liq- uid, resulting in a murky, greasy-tasting stock. If you have reserved and browned the two breast pieces, add them with the water. By the time the stock is done, the breast meat will be perfectly cooked, and you can remove the meat from the bone once the pieces have cooled.

6. STRAIN CAREFULLY

Pour stock through fine-mesh strainer into large liquid measuring cup or other large container. WHY? Once the chicken has given up its flavor, separate the solids from the liquid. For efficiency, use a large fine-mesh strainer. If your strainer is small, work in batches or remove the large solids by pouring the stock through a colander, then filter the liquid through the fine-mesh strainer. If your strainer has a coarse mesh, line it with damp cheesecloth before use.

7. REMOVE FAT

Let stock settle for 5 to 10 minutes. Use wide. shallow spoon to remove fat that rises to surface. WHY? During cooking, fat renders out from the chicken into the liquid, so before the stock can be used the fat must be removed. Straining inte- grates the fat into the stock. Let the stock stand for 5 to 10 minutes after straining to give fat time to rise to the surface. Then the fat can be skimmed off with a spoon or ladie. Or the stock can be refrigerated until the fat solidifies on the surface; the congealed fat layer is easily scraped off with a spoon.

Notes

I prefer the stock best when made from thigh meat. If you use a lot of chicken legs it will be very gelatinous.