As December approaches, we have 12 Red Ranger Meat birds that are about ready for processing. These will fill the freezer and pantry and keep us full and content through the winter months.
Once we cook a chicken for dinner, the remains are never thrown away. They are used to make the Most delicious chicken stock you may ever taste.
Stock is an essential around here for adding to anything from soups to casseroles and can always give a boring meal a little kick.
You may Can or Freeze the stock for later use. We really have to can it, as I do not have much freezer space, just a small freezer above the fridge. We can not have a chest freezer being off grid, so most everything here is canned.
If you have the space to freeze it, it keeps just as well that way!
Here is the recipe I use..
If you don't have peppercorns, bay leaf, celery,, that's quite ok, it still turns out delicious.
* leftovers from one 3-5 lb chicken
* 4 Quarts water ( I usually add more water as it boils down)
* 2 Stalks Celery
* 1 onion
* 10 peppercorns
*2 Bayleaves
*1 Tbsp Salt or more if you wish
Combine all ingredients in a pan, bring to a boil then let simmer for a couple hours. Remove all the ingredients from the stock using a strainer )..
If canning return to a boil and fill sterilized jars...
Pressure Can Pints 20 minutes Quarts 25 at 10 lbs pressure ( please be sure to check your altitude to see if you need to use 15 lbs pressure)
If freezing in bags, let cool, fill bags and then lay flat on cookie sheet to freeze, this will make it easy to store in the freezer..
Enjoy
The Cools
A little vinegar added to the water helps pull more calcium from the bones. Just a little trick that I use to make it even more healthful. :)
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