Monday, January 20, 2014

I Finished the Chicken, Now What?

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For those of you who might indulge in an occasional animal based meal, this is for you.  A lot of people love rotisserie chicken, and a lot of people who don't eat meat anymore used to love it.  I won't harp on and on about the juiciness of the slow cooking and the high quality you can now get in Chicago, either from Whole Foods, or, even better, from Eataly.

So you enjoyed your chicken and you have this whole carcass leftover, now what do you do?  Throw it away?!  For shame!!  Don't waste the poor thing!  Not only do I make it a motto of mine to use everything to the best of my abilities in honor of the animal, but not to forgo a delicious 2nd meal from the first. Enter CHICKEN STOCK!


  • You pick all the meat off the bones and place the bones into a pot.  
  • Fill the pot with cold water until the bones are covered.  
  • Bring to a boil and then down to a simmer.  
  • Allow to simmer for about 3-5 hours for optimal break-down of all the goodness.  


I love to add any leftover veggie bits I have too, like onion peelings, or whole onions, carrot end or chopped up carrots, celery, etc.  This provides more flavor and nutrients!

Not a chicken person?  Easy!  Do the same as above but with a bunch of veggies to get a quick and easy veggie broth!  It only needs about 30 minutes of simmer time, strain and freeze!

After the cooking process is finished just strain into a storage container or ice cube tray, allow to cool, and refrigerate or freeze.  The cubes are nice to throw into rice or quinoa to give it more flavor.  You can use the stock as a soup base.  Just heat it up and throw in a bunch of veggies, and/or some chicken meat.

2+ meals in one!

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