How not to make chicken stock

February 5, 11:05 AMFood ExaminerEric Burkett

Previous Next

3 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Food Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

There's nothing like a little autolyzed yeast extract
to really bring out that homemade taste.

Rarely a day goes by in the kitchen where I work that I don’t make stock. Usually it’s chicken stock, although vegetable and beef stocks work their way into the fray from time to time, too.

It would be unthinkable not to have fresh stock on hand in a commercial kitchen, but there’s no reason not to have it at home, either. It’s incredibly useful, it can be a great way to – selectively – use up scraps, and it’s better for you than the stuff you buy in boxes or cans. With homemade stock, you know exactly what’s going into it and you can flavor it as you want (although it’s best to keep it simple, and I’ll go into that in a moment).

Taking up space on my desk are two commercially made brands of chicken stock, Swanson and Pacific. Swanson is made by Campbell Soup Co., and Pacific is organic and advertises itself as being made from free range chickens (which opens up other questions, of course). The ingredients listings for both are dauntingly long, and both contain high levels of sodium, and – surprise! – sugar.

The Swanson stock lists, bafflingly, “chicken flavor (maltodextrin, water, dextrose, salt, chicken flavor [chicken stock, salt, enzymes], autolyzed yeast extract, onion powder, chicken fat, modified food starch, ascorbic acid, sugar, rosemary extract)” along with a host of additional items including, thankfully, carrots, celery, and onions. It also lists something called sodium phosphate. Mmm mmm, good.

Pacific’s list is shorter but no less mystifying: “Organic chicken broth (filtered water, organic chicken), organic chicken flavor, (organic chicken flavor, sea salt), natural chicken flavor (chicken stock, salt), organic evaporated cane juice, organic onion powder, turmeric, organic flavor.”

You gotta love organic flavor. And why aren’t there any vegetables? And what’s with that errant comma between “organic chicken flavor” and “(organic chicken flavor, sea salt)”?

When I make chicken stock for work, I keep it simple: chicken scraps (fat, skin, meat) from trimming chicken, and skins and trimmings from onion, celery, and carrots. If I have them, I’ll add parsnip trimmings and leek greens, as well. I don’t want an assertively flavored stock; I’m looking for something that will serve as a base for other soups, or to use in sauces or even stuffing. I don’t salt it, although I will occasionally add herb scraps.

At home, where you’re probably not turning out as much in chicken or vegetable scraps, you can still make a good stock from the carcass of that chicken you roasted a day or two ago.

• 1 chicken carcass (with as much skin as possible)
• 2 cups chopped yellow or white onion
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 quarts cold water

Place all the ingredients in a large stock pot, and then turn the heat on to low. Keep it low, letting it eventually come to a simmer, occasionally skimming off the scum that accumulates at the top. When the stock is reduced by about one third, strain off the liquid, and pour it into 1 or 2-quart containers and freeze for later.

What it lacks in “organic flavor” or autolyzed yeast extract, it more than makes up for in wholesomeness and taste.