Taking Stock

Any recipe that begins, "Take the carcasses from the freezer..." might cause you to think twice about your eating habits. But rest assured, it'll be worth it and won't require much trauma.

I make my own chicken stock. Every month or so I buy a whole chicken and roast it -- good eats, easy prep. After the eating, I place the bones in a gallon freezer bag. And in a few months, I have quite the collection.

When it's time, I take all the bones out and place them on a couple of baking sheet, and send them to a 400? oven until they're all nice and brown. Then the bones go into the pot. But what to do with all the brown crusty goodness stuck to the bottom of the pan? Slap that sheet on the burner, pour on some water, scrape until it dissolves, and add it to the pot with the bones.

Check your fridge to see what vegetable flavors you'd like in there with the bones - I like onions, carrots, celery. Then fill the pot with water until it barely covers what's in it. Bring to boil and simmer for 2 or so hours.

After it cools, stick it in the fridge overnight. Next day skim off the fat from the top, and you're ready to go.