Recipe:Chicken Stock

Well, I have been dealing with some sort of cold since Saturday morning.  It has gone through the various stages; sore throat, stuffy head, headache, congestion, runny nose, coughing.  Anytime someone in our family is sick, we usually have them eat chicken soup made with homemade stock and or drink the stock.  It really helps and I always feel like I have gotten a boost.  The chicken stock recipe we modified is from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.  It is a great resource for healthy recipes, however, they are not all gluten free or casein free.

I began making my own stock after my husband experience serious health issues and was required to reduce his sodium intake.  At first I thought making stock was an all day process, but I was pleasantly surprised that it really doesn't take much time at all to prepare, and the results are many times better than anything that you can buy in the store and much better for you.  Anytime we have a whole chicken for dinner, we make the stock dinner and then we can freeze for use in other recipes or when someone is sick and needs some healthy broth.  It really is easy!

Chicken Stock
Yield: 6-10- servings

1 whole chicken (free range, pastured, or organic chicken)
3 to 4 quarts cold water (preferably filtered)
1T. apple cider vinegar
4 medium-sized onions, coarsely chopped
8 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2 to 4 zucchinis (optional)
5 garlic cloves
2-4 T. sea salt (I omit this)
1 bunch of parsley*

Place whole chicken or chicken carcass in a pot with cut up vegetables.  Cover with filtered water and add the apple cider vinegar.  Let it sit for an hour.  After the hour, bring the pot of water with chicken carcass, and vegetable to a boil.  After it comes to a boil, reduce to low and let it simmer for 12-24 hours.  The longer you let it simmer the more rich your broth will be.  We do this overnight.  During the last 10 minutes place in a bunch of parsley.  After the 10 minutes, remove the parsley and discard, then continue to let the broth cool a little in pan.  Strain broth into a bowl, put a lid on it and place in the refrigerator until the fat solidifies on the top. Remove the fat and then you can use in recipes, freeze in containers for later use.  I freeze ice cube trays of them on occasion, so I have a little bit of broth when recipes call for small amounts (1 Tbsp. etc..). 

*Note: I don't always have this available, but I make the stock and omit this step.  The broth will still be great!