15 Things to Make Before You Die - Installment #2 - All-Time Top Recipes ERROR 404

Next up on my journey to becoming an "accomplished cook" was chicken stock. I researched several different recipes and came up with one conclusion - ingredients in chicken stock are adjustable. I also realized that I didn't have a stock pot big enough to make the amount of stock yielded in most recipes. So I adjusted my ingredients to accommodate what was already in my refrigerator, decreased the amount to fit my 10 quart stock pot and substituted rotisserie chicken carcasses from my weeknight meals for raw chickens. I don't know if that would technically be considered cheating since most recipes I found used raw chicken and I was using cooked chicken carcass, but it worked with what I had on hand and was way cheaper than buying a chicken for the soul purpose of making stock. Regardless of my changes and my deviation from most traditional recipes, I ended up with stock and it was a delicious stock at that. This was extremely easy, but I am not sure that I am a converted homemade chicken stock lover just yet. The boxed stocks with the screw tops are so convenient and they stay fresh for such a long time in the fridge. I guess I need to use my homemade stock in a recipe before I declare boxed stock the winner. I will update this post after the homemade stock has been put to the recipe test. The best part of cooking chicken stock is the wonderful aroma that filled my house all day Saturday as I sat home and cheered for my Saints!

View my progress on the list below:

1. Yeast Bread - Check.
2. Beef Tenderloin Steaks
3. Cream Pie
4. Creme Brulee
5. Fudge
6. Cream Puffs
7. Crown Roast
8. Fried Chicken
9. Roux - Check.
10. Pasta and Cream Sauce - Check.
11. Roasted Turkey and Gravy - Check.
12. Chocolate Pudding - Check.
13. Layer Cake - Check.
14. Souffle
15. Chicken Stock - Check.

7 down, 8 to go!

Homemade Chicken Stock

Ingredients

2 rotisserie chicken carcasses
1 large yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered
3 carrots, unpeeled and halved
2 stalks celery with leaves, cut into thirds
2 bay leaves
10 sprigs fresh parsley
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 head garlic, unpeeled and cut in 1/2 crosswise
1 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 gallon of cold water

Directions

Place the chickens, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, thyme, garlic, and seasonings in a 8 to 10-quart stockpot.

Add 1 gallon of cold water

and bring to a boil.

Simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours. Do not stir during simmer. Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander placed on top of a large bowl to catch the liquid and discard the solids.