Homemade Chicken Stock

Homemade stocks are one of the most nutritious, cheap, and easy foods to prepare on the planet.  Homemade stocks have been considered a healing food since ancient times.   Bone broths or animal stocks are a great source of minerals.  Ensuring adequate mineral intake is very important!  Adequate mineral balance helps reduce stress, regulate body functions, and support the structures of the body (cells, bones, etc).  

Finished stock - simmered for
8 hours.  The whole house
smells amazing!  

In addition, making your own stock is a great way to be green friendly.   You can use any combination of chicken parts you have on hand (bones, necks, skin, whole chickens, legs, etc).  Using leftover bones and chicken parts helps you get the most out product that you would have otherwise thrown away.  Lastly, making your own stocks help to reduce environmental impact because there is no waste from packaging.  


Use your homemade stock in your favorite soups, rice or other grains, beans & lentils, or to cook vegetables in.  It really is amazing how much you can boost the flavor of brown rice by simply cooking in fresh stock.  No salt needed :-)  

Using an ice bath, helps to remove
the skum from the mesh strainer.  

Homemade Chicken Stock


Ingredients:
2-3 lb pasture-raised chicken parts (bones, neck, & skin)***
1 tbl. raw apple cider vinegar
3 celery stalks, chopped in large 2-3 inch pieces
3 carrots, chopped in large 2-3 inch pieces
2 large onions, quartered into large pieces
1 whole bulb garlic, sliced in half with skin intact
cold filtered water
parsley & any other fresh herbs that you have on hand


Directions:  

Skum (impurities) rising to the top 
of the chicken stock.  

1.  Place all ingredients except herbs in a large stock pot.  Cover with water.  Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2.  Turn to high heat and bring to a boil.  While stock is heating prepare an ice bath in a small bowl and retrieve a small hand held mesh strainer.  When skum (impurities) rises to the top skim it off with the mesh strainer. Dip the strainer into the ice bath each time.  
3.  Turn heat to warm-low, add parsley, and simmer for 6-10 hours adding more water as necessary so bones and vegetables stay covered.  
4.  Remove from heat and place covered into the refrigerator.  Let cool completely.

Adding fresh herbs helps to pull the
minerals out of the bones!

5.  Skim any solidified fat off of the top.  Strain the liquid and place into air tight containers.  The stock will keep in the fridge for one week. To extend shelf life bring stock to a boil every couple of days to kill any bacteria that may have formed.   Can be frozen and kept for a few months.  


***Alternatively, you could use a 2-3lb whole chicken.  Prepare the same way.  Once you strain the liquid.  Pull the chicken from the bones and reserve the meat for soups, salads, dinners, sandwiches, etc. 

Keri is an internationally Registered Yoga Teacher, Culinary Nutritionist, and Wellness Coach.  She owns and operates BAYA Wellness, LLC offering Yoga and Nutrition services and products.  Keri teachers both privately and publicly around the Greenville area offering on-going classes and special events.  Her path as a nutritionist is all about making healthy living approachable... she teaches the components of healthy cooking, eating, and thinking while also offering specialized services like menu planning.  Healthy living is about the whole pictures of wellness... find your path to living well.

BAYA... Be As You Are!

Contact me for details: www.BAYAWellness.com