Homemade Chicken Stock
By: Janis Smyth
Published: Friday, July 16, 2010 - 7:52am

Ingredients




3 pounds chicken, or bone-in chicken parts with skin
3 carrots
3 stalks celery
2 onions
2 tablespoons peppercorns, cracked
4 bay leaves
2 teaspoons sea salt
Water to cover

Preparation

1 Thoroughly wash carrots, celery and onions – you don’t need to peel them, but you may want to trim the ends.  Cut them in half (quarter the onions); they’ll be easier fit into the stock pot. 2 Rinse the chicken well with cold water and remove any giblets, if necessary. 3 Combine chicken, carrots, celery, onions, peppercorns, bay leaves and salt in a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot.  Add enough water to cover; bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. 4 Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for two hours. 5 Remove the chicken from the pot; carefully pull the meat off of the bones and return the carcass and skin to the stock.  Continue simmering for another hour; taste.  If the stock is not rich enough, continue to simmer, tasting every 15 minutes. 6 When stock has reached desired richness and flavor, turn off the heat and allow to cool for one hour.  Strain the stock through the cheesecloth into storage containers, label with the date and freeze.