I make this once every week or so. We use it in all of our soups, stews, and
rice dishes and sometimes just add a little salt and drink it straight up. It has been THE lynchpin in
our overall health. I use the recipe
from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions and while it takes some
considerable cooking time it is well worth the effort:
1 stewing hen or carcass from leftover chicken*
Feet/extra back/neck/head (s)--also available at Marin Sun Farms at the Sunday Civic Center Market or check with your butcher. At
the least he'll have some backs for you.
All of these parts are high in gelatin and are what makes the stock so
good for you.
1 onion chopped in large chunks
2 carrots chopped in thirds
3 celery sticks chopped in thirds
4 quarts cold water
2 Tbsp. distilled vinegar
1 bunch Parsley (added at the last 10 min. of cooking
time to impart important mineral ions)
Sea Salt to taste
Combine everything except parsley in a large stainless
stock pot. Let sit on stove for 30 min.
to 1 hour. Bring to a boil and remove any scum that has floated to the
top. Reduce heat and cover and simmer
for 6 to 24 hours. If you have qualms about leaving your stove on for so long, you can transfer everything into a large slow cooker (at least 7 qts.) and let it go on low for up to 24 hours. At the end, add the
parsley and let go for 10 more minutes.
Strain everything into a large bowl, reserving chicken meat if a whole
chicken is used, and reserve in the refrigerator until the fat rises to the top
and congeals.
Skim off this fat and discard. Reserve stock in smaller containers in the refrigerator or freezer. Clear stock will keep 5 days in the
refrigerator and several months in the freezer.
Quick Stock
If in a bind and you need to get some soup in you STAT you can use ORGANIC free range chicken stock and add 1 tsp. of gelatin (unflavored) per pint. Bring to a boil then proceed with your recipe.
*Notes on Chicken
I get the feet and heads at Marin Sun Farms at the Sunday Civic Center Market--they have something they call a
"stock pack" and they also sell necks separately too. I try to call ahead by Thursday and see if
they have stewing hens too so I can pick them up all at once. When
using the stewing hens you don't want to eat the meat after, it's kind of
stringy. When I use regular roasting
hens, I typically roast the chicken for dinner that night and get a couple of
extra chicken backs (from any butcher, organic if you can get them, they're
happy to sell them to you and they are pretty cheap--one or 2 is plenty for the
stock) and then throw the carcass in with the rest of the stuff for the stock.
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