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Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Liquid Gold


You guessed it! We call chicken stock liquid gold. It makes the most amazing soups, stews and sauces. I used to buy chicken stock in the store because I thought it was very complicated to make and that I would have to waste a whole chicken to make it. Not true! Believe it or not, it's practically free! If I had known this sooner, I would have saved myself a lot of money.

This amazingly rich stock is made from things you likely throw in the garbage. In my freezer I keep a Ziploc bag filled with onion, celery, carrot and other veggie ends. You know what I mean, right? The stuff you toss when prepping dinner. Yup! Take these and toss them into a Ziploc bag and store them in your freezer.

Every so often I make a whole chicken in the oven. After dinner, I pick all the meat off the bones. I take the bones and put them in a pot, add some of the veggie ends from the freezer, fill the pot with water and a good splash of raw organic apple cider vinegar. Bring it to a simmer and when foam starts to form on top, skim that off. Let it simmer at a very low temperature for about 24 hours. Strain through a colander, cool in the fridge and jar up in some freezable (make sure they say they are freezable) jars.

This highly nutritious liquid will amaze you! Yes, from kitchen scraps you have something useful, healthful and yummy! Give it a try!

11 comments:

rachel... said...

My kids love chicken, so I make it often. I never thought of saving the bones to make stock. I have always just bought the canned kind. This is a great idea! Thanks!

Shady Lady said...

Oh Rachel! This is so much better and SO much healthier than the canned kind. You can also make it in a crockpot if you need to, but the temperature is a little higher than you want ideally. Still, it works! Let me know how it turns out and if you have any questions! :)

Sheri said...

Oooooh, my eyes lit up as soon as I saw the pic.

We make our own stock too usually just from the chicken bones. I'm going to take your suggestion though and start freezing our veggie bits to add.

Thanks!

Shady Lady said...

Enjoy, Sheri!!

sheila said...

Makes me feel like grabbing a blanket and a good book right now! Mmmmmmmm. Love chicken soup! I hear if you cook the chicken with a some lemon juice or tomato paste...It draws the calcium from the bones into your broth. Have you ever heard that?

Shady Lady said...

The splash of raw organic apple cider vinegar leaches calcium and minerals from the bones. I suppose lemon juice might work...not sure about tomato paste. Yeah, the smell of the stock makes me yearn, just a bit, for Autumn.

Aliceson said...

I love making my own stock! I haven't ever used the vinegar but I will try it next time! Thanks!

edwinsiew said...

prawn skin is as good as the meat for making soup!

Shady Lady said...

You are most welcome, Aliceson!

Thanks, edwinsiew! I'll give it a go!

denise said...

We always make our own stock too--it is the best thing. I make everything with it - pasta, rice, soups, stews...YUM. :)

Candace said...

Great inspirational post! I had no idea about the vinegar. I'm going to have to get some real kitchen appliances. I can tell that already. :)