Chicken Stock

This is the recipe I always use for stock and soup. It does take a while to cook- 4 hours- but it is definitely worth it and the house smells so good while it is cooking. It makes a lot of stock which can be frozen to use later. I don't have a 16- to 20 quart stock pot, so I divide the recipe in half and make it in two smaller stock pots. The recipe calls for 3 5-pound chickens. This seems like a waste to me since most of the chicken ends up getting thrown out. Instead, I often make this with one whole chicken and lots of chicken bones which I have saved up in the freezer over time. I have also purchased the bones from the market in the past. This way you still get the rich flavor and color of the broth but don't spend as much money and waste so much chicken.

If you want to use the chicken in soup- follow the recipe in the Parties! book. That has you removing the breast meat after an hour so you can serve it in soup later. This is a lot less wasteful to me.