Most Sundays G, Mr G and the boys come around for dinner. It’s lovely to have all the family together for one meal a week and it gives us a chance to catch up on what everyone has been doing.
One of my favourite family meals on a Sunday is Roast Chicken. It’s also one of the boys favourite meals.
We usually buy an extra-large chicken as there are 7 of us and there isn’t usually much left. Although, if there is I’ll pop it in the fridge, so I can have a sandwich during the week. I love a warm chicken sandwich with mayonnaise.
But the great thing with a chicken is that you can use the carcass to make chicken stock. It’s so easy and the homemade stock is so much nicer than shop bought. Once you’ve made the stock you can freeze it and then use it later as the base for a soup or just to add to stews. It has so much flavour.
Food Waste
Food waste has become such an issue in the UK. It’s hard to believe but more than 8 million families in the UK struggle to put food on the table – and yet, around 10 million tonnes of food waste ends up in landfills each year.
It has been estimated that the average family in the UK wastes nearly £60 a month by throwing food away.
If you would like to read a bit more about food waste you can read my Blog on Zero Waste – Easy Tips to Reduce Food Waste
So, if you can make something stretch a bit further then that can only be a good thing and chicken stock is a great way to start. It won’t make a meal in itself but it makes a great base for an easy soup so here’s how I make my chicken stock.
Chicken Stock
Chicken stock is so easy to make, and the depth of flavour is so much better than shop bought stocks and it also has much less salt. I don’t add salt to my stock when I make it as I prefer to add the seasoning to my final recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 chicken carcass
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 stick of celery, roughly chopped
- Any clean vegetable peelings / top and tails or veg that needs using up (not too much potato peelings or green veg. Tomatoes are fine but again not too many)
- 1 sprig of thyme
- A couple of Bay Leaves
- Pinch of mixed herbs
- Twist of pepper
- bulb of garlic
Instructions
- Put everything in a heavy based pot
- Note: Don't use too many potato peelings as it makes the stock go cloudy and be careful with green veg peelings as kale, cabbage & broccoli may make the stock bitter. Carrots, leeks, onions, celery and spring onions are the best.
- Cover with water
- Place on the hob and simmer for around 3 hours
- Skim off the foam every now and then
- Strain the stock through a fine sieve
- You can keep it in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for a month
I hope you try making some stock the next time you have roast chicken. And, I’d love to hear what you make with the stock afterwards.
