SUPER BOWL CHICKEN STOCK!

Today's the big game (if anyone is planning to watch).  I'm making wings and shrimp for the family - the game is incidental.  However.... here's a suggestion if YOU are cooking chicken wings.

Don't waste the tips - the part we always toss in the trash.  Wash 'em and put 'em in a medium sauce pan and add water just to cover.

To this - add:

One medium onion - cut into 8ths

3 celery stalks - washed, ends trimmed, and cut into 4 pieced

2-4 garlic cloves - smashed (no need to peel - I hate peeling garlic!)

6-8 whole peppercorns

Add a little more water if necessary to cover everything about an inch.

Bring to a rolling boil and reduce to lowest heat - simmer COVERED at least an hour.  Strain through a sieve into a metal or glass bowl; cover and refrigerate overnight.

Next morning, remove the congealed fat on top.  (Won't be much fat - that part of the chicken isn't particularly fatty!) Stir the stock to blend any goodies that might have settled and measure what you have.  Hopefully it will be 1-2 cups.  Divide into usable portions for your cooking needs and freeze in quart Zip-Loc FREEZER bags.  Freeze FLAT for easy storage.

Note:  If you have more than 3 cups of stock, I suggest simmering it uncovered for a while to let it reduce - this intensifies the flavor.  Just keep an eye on it!

Use in preparing soups, rice, and gravies.

I AM THE QUEEN OF STOCK!

Nothing.... NOTHING enhances the flavor of (particularly) a starch dish like cooking it in homemade stock.

SHRIMP STOCK:  I live on the NC coast, so seafood is a staple in my house - particularly  shrimp.  I but 80 pounds of 16-20 count shrimp at the end of the summer and freeze them (shells on) in one pound bags.  Over the course of the year as we eat the shrimp, I save the shells for stock.  When I make shrimp creole, I cook the rice in shrimp stock.... a shrimp stir fry with pasta - pasta is cooked in shrimp stock.  And how can you possibly make ANY sort of seafood chowder without using shrimp stock!!!! I did a blog on 'everything shrimp' if you're interested.  Here is the link....

http://firebird-cooks.blogspot.com/2011/02/shrimp-primer.html

CHICKEN STOCK:  I bake a mean chicken and I use the pan drippings to make chicken stock.  Rice or pasta cooked in chicken stock is head and shoulders above rice cooked in water.  Here is my baked chicken with the 'stock' recipe....

http://firebird-cooks.blogspot.com/2011/02/baked-chicken.html

HAM STOCK:  This is a favorite because my husband loves what HE calls 'dirty rice'.  Bake a ham.  With me so far?  Drain off the drippings and rinse the pan with water, adding that to the drippings to make 2C.

For dirty rice, bring the 2C of ham stock to a boil.... add LOTS of fresh ground pepper and then add kosher salt to taste.  (Remember - hams can be salty from the curing process, so TASTE what you're making.)  Bring the stock to a boil and add 1C of long cooking rice (I use Mahatma Jasmine).  Cook according to package directions - about 18 minutes on low heat.  Let rice sit for 3-5 minutes before serving.

This is soooooo good with the baked ham, or with a grilled pork tenderloin or fried/grilled pork chops.

BEEF STOCK:  This is a little trickier than stock from the other meats above.  If you cook beef on a grill by the indirect method, put a drip pan under it and you have liquid gold.  Recover the drippings same as the ham above.  Beef stock is especially wonderful for enhancing the flavor of vegetable or vegetable beef soup.  Here's my favorite vegetable beef soup recipe...

http://firebird-cooks.blogspot.com/2013/04/beef-and-vegetable-soup.html

Comments about making any sort of stock.....

The easiest way to do this is to take the meat drippings and add water to make 2C.... refrigerate overnight and next day scrape off about 75% of the congealed fat - keep some of the fat for flavor.  Add water to bring the level BACK to 2C, and freeze overnight in a 16 oz 'red solo cup' on which you have written the type of stock and the date.  After the stock is frozen, seal the top of the cup with Press 'N Seal or Saran and put a rubber brand around the rim.  Stock keeps 60-90 days in a chest freezer (no freezer burn) or about a month in a 'frost free' freezer, like the one in the top of your refrigerator.

In my opinion, stock can turn otherwise 'blah' starches, like rice or pasta, into tasty side dishes simply by cooking them in your stock of choice that will compliment your main course.  Stock can also add intense flavor to your soups... and my goodness - it's so much cheaper than buying that krap in a carton in the grocery store!  (Well - at least you know what is IN the stock!!)

Dinner tonight will be chicken strips sauteed in butter and garlic with a little dry white wine added at the end and reduced by half (about 2 minutes to reduce the wine).....and served on top of linguine pasta cooked in chicken stock, drained, and then tossed with 2 TBSP of Philly cream cheese and 1 TBSP of unsalted butter.  I'll add about 1C of 'freezer peas' (those are the green rattly peas in TV dinners that have been cooked about 4 minutes) more for color than taste, garnish the chicken with a little chopped fresh parsley, and I'll make a side salad of romaine, tomatoes and celery.  A crusty artisan bread finishes the meal.... and I'll serve the same wine I used in the chicken reduction.

NEVER waste meat drippings.... there is always a stock to be made that will enhance SOMETHING.....

BAKED CHICKEN [REVISED 4/8/2019]

A beautiful, juicy bird that will have family and friends oooohing and aaahhhing! And so very easy!

Ingredients:

4-6 lb Chicken - thoroughly washed and patted dry - inside and out

1/2        lemon sliced into 4-5 pieces

1/2 head garlic - cloves separated and smashed 

3-4     fresh sprigs of thyme

2 T      butter at room temperature

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°  Line a large shallow baking pan with heavy duty foil and spritz with PAM

Rinse chicken and pat dry inside and outside. Trim off excess fat around the cavity and lay around the edges of the baking pan.  Wash all the pieces of innards in the cavity EXCEPT DISCARD THE LIVER.  Lay these around the edges of the pan.

Add a small rack - the kind you'd cool a cake pan on and spray it with PAM.

Sprinkle cavity with a shake or two of salt and pepper; layer the lemon pieces in the cavity and cover with the garlic and thyme - do NOT pack tight

Put a dab of butter in each hand and give the bird a body rub all over; sprinkle liberally with fresh ground pepper and a few shakes of kosher salt on all sides

BAKE 1-1/4 - 1-1/2 hours or until juice at the thigh/body joint is no longer pink

Remove from the oven.  Lift the chicken with grilling forks and gently shake the stuffing onto the baking sheet, draining all the liquid onto the pan as well.  Quickly remove the bird to clean plate and cover with foil; let rest about 15-20 minutes before slicing.  

For a wonderful chicken stock:  (This is the fun part)

After the pan has cooled, place a fine mesh strainer over an 8C bowl.  CAREFULLY pour the pan drippings into the strainer, using a spatula to gently scrape the foil covering clean.  Add about 1C of very hot water to the pan and swish to remove any tasty bits and pieces that remain and pour through the strainer.  Throw the solids in the strainer in the trash.  Add enough water to the liquid to make about 3-1/4 cups of stock.  Stir with a whisk to blend.  Cover and refrigerate overnight. (note: don't add any salt or pepper to this liquid)

The next morning, remove the congealed fat on top of the liquid and discard.  The remaining liquid is an intensely flavored chicken stock you can use for cooking soups, rice, pasta, etc. (divide into 1C portions and freeze in a ZipLoc freezer bag)

Note:  This makes an AMAZING start for chicken soup - my family's favorite.  It's also wonderful to use with an equal part of water for making long-cooking rice.  (not instant or quick rice!)

Also - I always boil whatever's left of the chicken carcass for about 30 minutes and pick the bones of any meat for my soup - lots of good stuff in the nooks and crannies of the bird's skeleton!