Chicken stock

A friend of mine said that she couldn't use stock cubes because the chemicals didn't agree with her, so I told her how I make chicken stock. And as I was making some today, having had a roast chicken for supper yesterday, I thought I would do an illustrated post. It is an awful waste of a chicken not to make stock from the bones!

1 cooked chicken carcase

1 large onion

Several cloves garlic (optional)

1 leek (use the green end as well as the white bits)

Several carrots

1 stick celery, if you like cooked celery, which we don't so I didn't use one, but it's traditional

1 stock cube (obviously omit this if you are making stock because you can't tolerate cubes!)

2 litres water (about 1/2 American gallon, I believe)

Seasonings - salt, pepper, herbs, whatever....

Pick all the meat off the bones of the chicken and use elsewhere (sorry, my photo of the carcase didn't come out).

Peel the onion and chop into quarters, also peel the garlic

Cut the leek and carrots, and celery if using, into slightly smaller pieces.

and put everything into an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, if you have one.  If you don't have one, but do have a slow cooker (crock pot) then use that, and if you have neither, use a very large saucepan!  

In an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, you will want to cook it for about 20 minutes, and let it reduce pressure at room temperature, if possible, and certainly for at least 10-15 minutes after cooking has finished.  In a slow cooker, it's nicest left overnight, for about 12 hours or even 15.  And in an ordinary saucepan, you'll probably want a little more water and to simmer it for at least two hours, if not 3.

When it is ready, strain it and discard the solids, and you will be left with a large bowlful of stock to use as a basis for soups, risottos, etc - or you could even boil another chicken in it!