Getting to Cooked
It’s the fundamental move of the second-meal canon: making a soup from the bones you have on hand. Remember, once you have stock, you can float just about anything in it and call it soup. You’ll be glad you made your own. If you can’t deal with the leftover chicken bones or trimmings on a given night, then wrap them well and throw them in the freezer for a day when you feel like making stock. That day will come.
Time: 4 hours 45 minutes (15 minutes active)
Makes about 6 cups
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds chicken or turkey wings or backs or 2 chicken carcasses left over from roasting (or a combination)
1 onion, unpeeled, halved
1 head garlic, top quarter sliced off
1 carrot
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 or 3 fresh thyme sprigs
8 peppercorns
1 bay leaf, optional
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with the olive oil, then place the chicken on the sheet with the onion halves and the garlic, cut side down. Roast until the bones are deeply browned, 30 to 40 minutes (fleshy pieces of meat will take longer than bare carcasses).
3. Place the meat or carcasses in a large stockpot. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, tomato paste, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaf, if using. Place the baking sheet over one or two burners (depending on your range setup) and turn the heat to medium. Pour in 1 cup of water and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits that have adhered to the baking sheet. When the pan is mostly scraped clean, carefully tip the juices into the stockpot. Add 9 more cups of water, or more as needed to cover the bones.
4. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, then reduce it to a very gentle simmer. Have a bowl next to the pot and occasionally use a large spoon to scoop any scum or accumulated fat off the surface of the pot. You will have reasonable-tasting broth in an hour or two, but it will taste best if left on the stove for at least 4 hours. Keep scooping the fat from time to time if you remember.
5. Place a sturdy strainer atop a large metal bowl. Carefully pour the chicken stock through the strainer into the bowl. Push down on the solids in the strainer with a ladle to extract as many juices as possible. Generally I wait to season stock until I add it to whatever preparation I use it in. If you want to drink it as a bone broth, do season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. If you don’t have a lot of room in your refrigerator to cool the stock, you can cool it quickly by setting the metal bowl inside another large bowl half filled with ice water, making sure the level of the water doesn’t overtake the inner bowl. Stir occasionally until the stock is cool, then transfer to smaller containers (straining a second time if desired as you go). Refrigerate for 3 days or freeze for up to 6 months.
VARIATION
If you have a pressure cooker, you can make stock even more quickly. After roasting the chicken parts, place all the ingredients in a large pressure cooker (don’t fill it past the designated fill line) and cook at high pressure for 30 minutes.