The Basics - Chicken Stock

My freezer is full of this, i use it all the time! for homemade; sauces soups even cooking rice or cous cous to get the added flavour. You don't have to use a chicken carcass you could always go and buy the cheap cuts such as the wing-lets and make a chicken stock from them. There is a difference in flavour between the homemade stock and the store bought. The latter tends to have more salt which isnt great for some dishes as when you add other ingredients it can become too salty.

Chicken Stock

1 Chicken Carcass

200g Carrots Sliced

2 White Leeks Sliced

1 Celery Stick

1 Onion

150g Button Mushrooms, Thinly Sliced (Optional)

Bouquet Garni

Method:

Put the chicken in a pot and add 2.5 litres of water, simmer for 5 mins and then skim, add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 4 hours, then allow to cool and strain