What up guys? Today’s post is a bit of a different one. We already know that those of you who follow me on the wonder that is Instagram () will have seen a lot of pictures of food from me. Thing is, it’s not just baking. I do a lot of home cooking too and I love to make a good sauce. I think a great sauce can often make a meal and the majority of mine start with one simple ingredient… you guessed it, the humble chicken stock.

What you need for this beauty is chicken bones. Ok so, if you’re new to this cooking thing it may sound a little gross, but when you’re nomming down your favourite roast chicken on a Sunday, why chuck a potential ingredient packed with flavour in the bin? Save every last bone you can. If you’re grossed out by taking bones off people’s plates etc, try not to worry, you’ll be simmering the stock for a good long time, so any germs will be long gone!

At this point, you may be thinking, but what’s so wrong with the humble OXO cube? Marco Pierre White doesn’t have a problem with a Knorr stock-pot Lil, so what’s your beef? (LOL) The answer is, sure store bought stock is fine. Fine. But homemade stock is a whole new level. It’s not just posh sauces you can make with it you know. Brew up a delicious and nutritious soup, elevate your gravy to new gastronomic peaks, cook the stock with a few shallots and a bit of marsala or wine and spoon it over a simple chicken breast or pork chop for a gourmet style tea when you get home from work. Hell, if you’re feeling fancy you could even cook some fondant potatoes in it! Homemade stock is THE BOMB, trust me. And if you’re not sure how to do it, I’m here to help!

Ingredients:

1-3 chicken carcasses
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 leek (optional)
2 celery stalks (optional)
1 tsp peppercorns
2 bay leaves

The consensus is that you can make a good stock with just one chicken carcass. However, adding more will only develop the flavour and make everything more chickeny and delicious and who wouldn’t want that eh? Most chefs and home cooks don’t recommend making a stock without at least 2 sets of bones. You’ll need a stock pot. If you don’t have one, a big saucepan should cut it but it’ll need to hold all the ingredients plus water to cover them. Here we go:

Chop the veg. When I say roughly, I mean roughly. No one’s gonna see it and the stock will be drained once it’s finished. Whack everything in the pan. I tend to pack everything in quite tightly. By the way, the veg that is optional truly is optional. You can add pretty much as much raw root veg as you like so feel free to stick in anything you have lying around. Next, add the chicken carcasses. If you have more than one carcass then they’re probably frozen, right? No worries! I put them in the pot straight from frozen and I’ve read that’s safe for everyone involved – no food poisoning, I promise! Then, add the peppercorns and bay leaves. You can also add more herbs if you fancy it. Thyme is a pretty good addition.

Next, squash everything down into the pot using a light to moderate force. You know, no need for mashing actions or anything, just good for the ingredients to take up as little room as possible. The reason for this is that you want to cook the stock with as little water as possible so the flavour is more concentrated. You’ll get less stock this way, but it’ll be yumtastic. Now fill the pot with enough cold water to cover all the contents. Turn on your heat and gently bring your baby up to a simmer by keeping things low, try not to let it get to a rolling boil, cover it and leave it on a gentle, barely there simmer for anywhere from 3-5 hours. If you’re super picky about it being a clear stock, make sure you don’t stir it and use a slotted spoon to skim the scum off the surface every so often. The longer you leave the stock to simmer, the better. It will reduce, thicken and turn into a beautifully smelling elixir. I find this to be the perfect activity for a Sunday afternoon sitting at the kitchen island with some tea and the latest issue of LivingEtc magazine.

When you’re happy it’s done, take it off the heat and strain it into a bowl through a colander or sieve. Again, if you’re intent on it being clear, pass it through a sieve lined with a muslin cloth too. Leave it to cool. If it’s particularly fatty then a layer may form on the top, you can skim this off once the temperature has gone down. Voila – you have stock! Once it has cooled, I usually ladle it into sandwich bags, tie them and wrap the outside in foil. This way it doesn’t matter if the sandwich bag splits in the freezer or during defrosting., the foil catches the drips. Plus, if you’re in need of a quick defrost you can plunge the bundle into a bowl of hot water and you needn’t worry the stock will spill.

Sound good? I’m new to this recipe blogging malarky so if I’ve left anything out or you have any questions just shoot them right at me in the comments or over on . If you’re a stock making pro, have you got a twist on this recipe? Hopefully this is the first of a series of Basic Good Cooking posts, please let me know what you think – what other basics would you like to see?