January 20, 2022
Until a year or two ago, I always bought stock from the grocery store. I didn’t buy the canned stuff. I bought the “nice” stuff that came in one of those four cup boxes, and I believed it was good. Then I started making a lot of risotto. I made my first batch with homemade stock and then one with the store bought. The difference was significant. Since then, I’ve avoided store stock.
Beyond the better quality you get with fresh stock, it’s a value. You can pay as much as five dollars for a box stock. If you can get chicken thighs for $3 a pound, which is possible, your homemade stock will cost about what the box at the store does. The difference, you also are left with a pound and a half of chicken.
The recipe for chicken stock is the same as the recipe for shredded chicken, so when you are done making your stock you also have perfect shredded chicken. Sometimes this will go into the dish you made the stock for, but if you don’t need the chicken, or you don’t need all of it, there are so many things you can do with it: buffalo chicken, bbq chicken, chicken salad, tacos, nachos, a garden salad, and on and on.
Our stock calls for just three ingredients: chicken, salt, and water. This recipe is so basic, that it can be used anywhere that calls for chicken stock, but you can certainly enhance the flavor by adding additional ingredients. I suggest, black pepper, a bay leaf or two, and some onion, carrot, celery, or garlic.
Concord Culinary Lyceum 