Stock it

As I mentioned on Monday, my in-laws were up the other day. As always, they loaded us up with all sorts of goodies and brought dinner with them . They spoil us so much!

Part of that dinner, at least the part I want to talk about, was a rotisserie chicken. While I prefer not to eat meat, I find it a greater tragedy to allow so much to go to waist. So I opted to make a stock from what remained rather then throw it out. If you have not ventured to make your own stock before, I assure you it is very easy and far less expensive than buying it.

All you have to do is throw the remains in a big pot, fill it with water and gently boil for 6-8 hours and adding water needed. EASY! Once that's done, remove large pieces pieces with a slotted spoon and pour stock through a mesh stainer to remove remaining particulate. Place the container of stock into an ice bath to cool, then refrigerate. After the stock is chilled, you can easily remove the grease and freeze for up to 3 months.

Tips: add on hand veggies and herbs for flavor, strain liquid over the sink.

There you have it. A gallon of gourmet stock for essentially free, plus you've reduced your waste.