I had to clear space out of the freezer to fit our recently butchered pigs, and the most obvious thing taking up space was the bags and bags of chicken parts that I saved for making stock. It took several days and several batches, but I am happy to report that there are no more "parts for stock" in the freezer.
The following pictures illustrate the process I use, sorry you can't smell the delicious aroma!
Ingredients:
4 pounds of chicken parts, mostly backs, necks, and wing tips
1 large onion, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and cut in half
4 ribs of celery, cut in half, use leaves too if they are healthy
10 sprigs fresh thyme
10 sprigs fresh parsley, stems too
2 bay leaves
10 whole peppercorns
2 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
2 gallons cold water
Put all of the ingredients into a large stock pot, and pour water over the top. I usually double or triple this batch, and often end up only having room for half of the water in the pot.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours, adding water as needed to keep everything submerged.
Strain stock and discard all bones, meat, and vegetable matter (I bury all the leftover material in the compost pile). Strain a second time through a tight mesh to remove tiny particles. Place strained stock in stock pot in a sink full of ice water to quickly cool it.
The fresh stock chilling in the sink. After it cools, place stock pot in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours to allow the fat to form a nice, firm layer on top.
Skim the fat off of the surface. You can then store it for a couple of days in the refrigerator or a few months in the freezer. I prefer to can it, because I need the freezer space for other stuff! I heat the stock to a rolling boil and then ladle the hot liquid into jars, leaving a generous head space (at least 1 inch). Process at 11 pounds of pressure, 20 minutes for pints or 25 minutes for quarts.
The finished product! I do not usually have room for all the water the recipe calls for, so my stock is double-strength. When I use it, I usually dilute it one to one with water. I love the rich brown color and full flavor of this stock!
All these days of work yielded 25 quarts of concentrated stock, 50 quarts once it's diluted. That seems to be about right compared to previous years, approximately 1 quart of stock per chicken that we butcher.
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