Chicken Stock!

I brine and roast a chicken almost every week. I decided to save the necks and carcasses to make chicken stock (I discarded the gizzards, as I think that would impart a stronger flavor). Holy lord this is delicious. That picture on the right is after I strained out the solids—about 2.5lbs of chicken carcass and 2 quarts of stock.

And then I reduced it to one quart. Wow! The flavor exploded as the water cooked off.

Another important note: after the bones got soft, I took kitchen shears to them and cut them lengthwise to expose the marrow to the boiling water. In all I simmered the carcasses for four hours, with 1T salt, a bay leaf and a pinch of allspice, and then another ~hour to reduce. I'm going to boil some pinto beans tomorrow and cannot wait to see how they turn out with a 1/2 cup of this stock added to the mix.

Seriously, if you've never had homemade stock, it's like nothing you can buy at the store. Don't throw out your chicken bones! Freeze them!

Final picture is what was left after I "ate" a hefty bowl of stock. Need to skim it after it cools :)

Edit: Here it is the next morning, refrigerated overnight, fat skimmed. YUM!