Recipe: Basic Chicken Stock

Makes 1 ½ quarts 3 ½ pound cut-up fryer chicken

About 3 to 4 quarts water

2 to 3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

2 carrots, scrubbed and cut into chunks

1 medium onion, quartered

2 cloves garlic, smashed

2 stalks celery, cut into chunks

4 parsley sprigs

1. Put chicken into a 6-quart pot, and add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a high simmer and boil over medium-high heat, skimming off the foam as it rises to the surface. Continue skimming for about 5 minutes.

2. Add 2 teaspoons salt, peppercorns, carrots, onion, garlic, celery and parsley. Simmer 35 to 45 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through; skim occasionally. Remove chicken pieces from stock. Remove meat from bones, add bones to stock and continue to simmer 20 minutes. Taste and add a little more salt if needed.

3. Drain stock through a colander into a bowl and set aside until cooled. Discard vegetables. When chicken meat is cool, shred or dice the meat. Refrigerate up to 3 days, or wrap well and freeze up to 1 month.

4. When stock has cooled, cover and refrigerate. Once chilled, remove any fat that has solidified on top. The stock can be refrigerated up to 3 days; or pour into plastic containers, leaving about ½ inch headspace, and freeze up to 3 months.