John McCrory

In January it’s so nice… this week we happen to have a leftover chicken carcass on hand so a big batch of chicken stock is in order.

We’ll use the stock for a good winter warmup of Chicken Soup with Rice when the boys come in from playing in the snow tomorrow morning. We’re expecting 5 to 9 inches of the white stuff overnight and into Martin Luther King Jr. day.

To make the stock we began by grabbing some raw veggies we had on hand, then roasting them on a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. I happened to use

• 1 celery rib, split and chopped in thirds
• Half an orange bell pepper, cut in wide strips
• 1 medium onion, not peeled, cut in eighths
• a handful of green beans
• 1 carrot, split and chopped in thirds
• three cloves garlic, not peeled

Meanwhile, I took the leftover drippings from the roast chicken out of the fridge and discarded all but one tablespoon of the fat that coagulated on the top. I had about a cup and a half of drippings. I broke up the chicken carcass into manageable pieces, then browned them in the tablespoon of fat over medium high heat in our French Oven. I removed the pot from the heat, then added the drippings and the roasted veggies and added water to cover. For additional seasoning, I through in some salt, pepper, fresh sage, dried marjoram, and a handful of leaves from the celery. Unfortunately I didn’t have any parsley; I would have thrown about a cup and a half in.

Roasting and browning, along with the drippings should give the stock a heartier flavor. If I wanted a clear broth, I’d skip those steps and omit the drippings. For a super-clear broth, I’d use an uncooked chicken carcass.

I wanted make a big batch of stock (to freeze some in 1 cup portions later) so I filled the pot up with more water, about an inch and a half below the rim. I returned the pot to the heat, brought it just to the edge of a boil, then turned the heat down to low. Now, I am simmering it all afternoon, or about 5 to six hours. Every now and then I’ll check in on it, skim some fat off the top, and give the pot a stir or two.

Tonight I’ll use a colander and then a sieve to filter out all the veggies and chicken bits.

For tomorrow’s chicken soup with rice, we’ll chop up a few veggies, shred the leftover chicken, cook some rice, and that’ll be it. Our soup will include:

• chicken stock
• 1 carrot, chopped or sliced
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 1 scallion, chopped fine
• a handful of minced fresh dill
• shredded pieces of chicken

After it’s cooked, we’ll add in an appropriate amount of rice and serve to two red-cheeked boys. I’m not sure how the brightness of the dill and scallions will play against the hearty broth, but we’ll see!