Homemade stock is the foundation of all truly great soups and stews. Not everyone has the time to make it, but if you do you’ll find it really makes a difference in your cooking.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 2 to 2 1/2 quarts

　　4 to 5 pounds chicken backs, necks, legs, and thighs

　　Kosher salt and black pepper

　　1 large onion, unpeeled, cut into 8 chunks

　　3 stalks celery, washed and cut in large pieces

　　3 large carrots, peeled and cut in large pieces

　　4 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

　　Small handful of fresh Italian parsley

　　2 bay leaves

　　1 tablespoon dried thyme

　　2 cups plus 3 quarts water

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375°. Pull any obvious hunks of fat off the chicken pieces, and place the chicken in a single layer in a roasting pan. Season the pieces generously with salt and pepper. When the oven is hot, pop the chicken in and roast for 45 minutes. While that’s going on, put the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, and thyme in a soup pot.

　　

Step 2

Pull the chicken out of the oven when it’s done, and put the pieces in the soup pot. Skim off the fat from the roasting pan and pour in 2 cups of water. Set the pan over medium heat on top of the stove and stir, scraping in all the tasty browned meat juices clinging to the sides and bottom of the pan. Pour these pan juices into the soup pot, along with 3 more quarts of water.

　　

Step 3

Set the pot over high heat and bring quickly to a boil. As soon as it starts to bubble, knock the heat down to low and simmer the stock. As the ingredients in the pot heat, a scum will rise to the surface. Skim it off every 5 minutes or so til it stops appearing. Cook, uncovered, about 3 hours to pull the flavor out of the ingredients and into the stock.

　　

Step 4

Skim as much fat off the top as you can. Then line a arge colander with several layers of dampened cheesecloth. Set the colander over another large pot and strain the stock. Press down on the veggies and meat with the bottom of a small bowl to squeeze out any remaining liquid.

　　

Step 5

Season the stock to taste with kosher salt. Pour the stock into quart containers and chill, uncovered, in the fridge, til the fat solidifies on the surface. Remove the fat and discard. Cover the stock and use within several days, or label and freeze for use later.

　　Cooks' Note

　　You can also freeze stock in ice cube trays til hard; then pop the cubes out and store them in a plastic resealable bag. Now they’re ready for you to toss into pan sauces to rev up the flavor. Each cube is about 1 tablespoon of stock.

　　Dinosaur Bar-B-QueTen Speed Press