I have an ear infection. For the past 6 days, I’ve had congestion and ear stuffiness, felt awful, and been taking a cocktail of medicines (with a doc’s consult). It did not get better, and today I finally started antibiotics. I hope to bounce back, but it has been a rough week.
Since I was under the weather, a couple of days ago I decided I needed to do an easy thing to make a strong base for healing foods: crock pot stock. I ferret away carcasses of roast chicken, wingtips, backbones from when I’ve spatchcocked, the offal bits like liver and gizzard, extra chicken pieces I’m not cooking– all go into one or a few ziploc bags which I add to over time. On stock day, they all get dumped in the crockpot, frozen. In go roughly chopped carrots, celery with some leaves on, onion (I had no fresh ones on hand so used a half jar of brown onion paste), a couple of bay leaves, and a little bunch of whole peppercorns. Leave it on low for 8-12 hours (overnight is good). Strain it and you get the most delicious, unctuous stock– it gets pretty gelatinous when chilled. I think the hipsters call this “bone broth.” It’s delicious in a mug with salt and pepper when you need a lot of liquids. It’s also exceptional for any sort of soup you might want to make– a couple of options in a moment.
The other thing I do when I make this stock is meticulously pick all of the super soft meat from the bones for our puppy bear, Tiffin. Yes, even my dog is named after a food/meal. He loves boiled chicken beyond all reason, so it’s a great bonus that this awesome stock yields several meals for him.
Now, what kind of soup can you make from this stock? Well you could, as I did tonight, riff on http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-chicken-in-coconut-milk-with-lemongrass-recipes-from-the-kitchn-81026. I took chicken thighs with skin and bone, and seared them off in a pan (no need to use quite so much butter/oil, though even with significantly less than in that recipe, I dumped some out.) I had some leftover coconut cream (from the glaze for the mango rolls!) and put that in, and about an equal amount of the good stock. The juice of 1 1/2 small local limes, a big handful of torn kaffir lime leaves, one long lemongrass stalk cut into chunks, a big handful of cilantro stems, a few chilies left whole (chop if you want more heat than just the flavor), and a bunch of peeled garlic cloves. A couple of splashes of light and dark soy, and some fish sauce. In the oven at 375F for 45 minutes, then added fresh baby corn and mushrooms and back in for another 30. It’s a bit fussy to then strain the broth, take the skin off the meat and chop it up, and fish out only the baby corn and mushrooms rather than catching the aromatics, but it’s well worth it. If you’re more organized in the kitchen than I am, feel free to put your aromatics in a little cheesecloth bundle and tie off, and leave it in as a sort of Asian bouquet garni. I had enough liquid that it was more soup than stew, and added some rice to each of our bowls, as well as a hit of Sriracha. No photo, because it was yum and got nommed up quickly. I’ve done it before and added rice noodles, such as pad thai noodles, which also tastes great. You get almost a tom kha flavor. It might not be entirely authentic, but it is super, super delicious, and is fantastic when you’re sick and can’t get ahold of a big bowl of pho.
The stock is immensely flexible. You could also go “Italian” with: http://www.food.com/recipe/olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-9782 . Last time I made it I think I skipped the bacon entirely and used homemade stock, and it. Was. Sublime. The photo doesn’t even do it justice.
The kale gets tender, the sausage is juicy, the soup itself is liquid gold. SO delicious! A friend gave me a pro tip– if you plan to freeze some, leave out the cream and just add that when you defrost/reheat. Worked a treat.
And one other soup recommendation, this one pulled from: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/06/06/roasted_zucchini_soup_recipe_with_tons_of_garlic_and_boursin_cheese_the_best_thing_to_do_with_abundant_zucchini.html. Basically roast off zucchini, onions, and garlic, add the stock, add some boursin cheese, and use a stick blender or food processor. I like to add dried mint– it works wonderfully.
You could also, as I do, boil up frozen broccoli in the stock, dump in shredded cheddar (shred your own and toss through with a bit of cornstarch to draw out the moisture and keep your cheese from splitting into oily grossness in the hot liquid! Also useful for when you make mac and cheese, btw), and puree with implement of choice for yummy broccoli cheese soup.
This stock will be your BFF for making gravy, for pan sauce for simple roast chicken dishes– the uses are many. Are you absurdly parsimonious and don’t have a dog? You can still shred all the super soft chicken, and add seasonings, egg, and breadcrumbs, and fry up some croquettes, which you can then munch as a side with your mug of stock.
Yes, I know the weather’s heating up and the time for soup is past. But summertime colds and other such ailments strike. Plus up your couscous salad game by cooking the grain in stock. I’ve had to bookmark the site which gives me the right ration– 1 1/2 cups of couscous to 2 3/4 of stock. I boil it first, turn off the heat, drop in the grain, quick stir, cover, and don’t touch. Then I chop up feta, chunks of red bell pepper and cucumber, and fresh mint and parsley. By that time the couscous is ready– fluff with a fork and add in your other stuff, plus lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oi. Great with kebabs or sausages.
Stock instead of water makes polenta better– stock plus a ton of shredded cheese, ideally gruyere. I had an Italian tell me, “Normally I don’t like polenta because I find it bland, but yours is very good.”
So, next time you have leftover raw chicken bits, get a freezer bag going. If you want to be fancy, the madman chef Heston Blumenthal suggests using chicken wings, tossing them in milk powder, and roasting off. This increases the Maillard reaction and gives you a really brown chicken base, which makes your chicken stock extra “chicken-y.” He also uses garlic in his stock. I don’t mind this but my husband prefers it without, so you do you. But do make stock in your slow cooker if you’ve got one, because it will be delicious and will make everything you cook with it taste much better. Now, one note, this stock will be intensely flavorful, but it won’t reduce. If you want to concentrate it further, feel free to put it on the stovetop and cook it down as much as you’d like. However, I don’t really see the need for that, since, as I said, it’s already extremely flavorful as-is.
Freeze it in gallon ziploc bags, or, if you want to be measured, in ice cube trays for 1 oz portions you can measure out for sauces and such. Also, if you need to produce consomme or super clear stock for some reason, freeze stock, and let thaw over a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a bowl. You’ll wind up with the clear broth you need without having to jump through the hoops you otherwise might.
My goodness…so many yummy things Drinks…but way too fast. Give one at a time…no, I could do that organization part myself too. I love your Crock-Pot soup idea. I thought it would smell. But now with the rotisserie chicken remnants I will try this. Do you have any suggestions with the proportion? Like how much liquid , water against how much bones..or suit yourself? I know you’ll say ,mashis….I thought I didn’t have to tell you that too. Getting interested in your blog. The hard part is keeping it going. Good luck my child.