Chicken & Celery Stock

This time I made a chicken stock.  Rather than having all sorts of aromats and vegetables in with the chicken, I used just the top half of a head of celery (including the leaves), some peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves.

I bought some chicken carcasses from the supermarket – if I was better organised (and had a bigger freezer) I would have saved them after roasts.

I roasted the chicken carcasses (which I tried to cut in half) with a splash of oil until the bones were a bit golden but not burned.  This took about 45 minutes in a moderate oven.

I 2/3^rd filled a large stock pot with filtered water and put it on to heat.  As it was warming I put in the roasted chicken bones and the celery, bay leaves and peppercorns.  I did not add any salt.  You have to remember this and compensate with salt when you use the stock in dishes.

I simmered this for just under 24 hours – on the lowest setting possible.  I didn't skim it or use an egg white to clarify the stock so maybe the end result wasn't perfectly clear – but it doesn't seem to affect the flavour.

When the stock is cool enough to handle, strain it and put it into clean jars – for what you'll be using quickly – and freeze the rest.  For once I remembered to label and date it!