Okay, so you normally buy the stock cubes, right? Not too expensive, quick and easy! But – these are laden with salt, and not very healthy, so why not use something you would normally throw away to make something nutritious and tasty for your family?
Don’t throw out your peels or your chicken carcass! Recycle them:). This recipe is for chicken stock, but with the simple addition of apple cider vinegar and a much longer cooking time, you can turn this into bone broth, which is even healthier.
You will need the following:
- Leftover bones and skin from a large cooked or raw chicken carcass
- Celery tops and 1 large celery rib
- 1 large onion, quartered
- Carrots ( I use about three, if I use carrots, not peels)
- Parsley, 1 bunch
- Salt
- Pepper
- 3 Sprigs of rosemary and thyme
- Garlic to taste
- 3 bay leaves
Directions:
1) Put the leftover bones and skin from a chicken carcass into a large stock pot. Add vegetables and herbs. (I usually freeze my carrot peels, potato peels and other vegetable peelings, and use this when making stock or bone broth. Scrub the vegetables first before peeling if you plan to do this!).Cover with water. Add salt and pepper, about a teaspoon of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper.
2) Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to bring the stock to barely a simmer. Simmer partially covered at least 4 hours, occasionally skimming off any foam that comes to the surface.
3) Remove the bones and vegetables with a slotted spoon, and strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve.
Keeps for around a week in the fridge, and can be frozen for three to four months.
*I usually use my slow cooker or my pressure cooker to make the stock in – hands free cooking! Just throw everything in, and let it get on with things:)