See it through to the end

Thanks to some of you who still frequent this spot, even tho' I have not.......I've got to do better.


Do you use your food, bones, scraps right down to the last little bit?  I bet some of you are great at not wasting anything.  I'm always trying to improve....

I frequently buy rotisserie chickens when shopping for my meals,  but until recently, I threw away the bones/carcass.  What a waste!  I really love homemade broth/stock for cooking, so now I freeze them until I have enough to make a quart or more.  Of course it's very easy, at least, I keep it easy.

Here's all you need to do.

Put all the chicken bones in a pot and fill it up with water just to the top of the bones.  I add some onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.  Then, bring it to a boil.  Next, turn the heat down so the water will simmer.  Simmer it for one hour.   That's it!!!

Pour the stock through a strainer.   Put the stock into a container to freeze for whenever you may need it.  The bones from one rotisserie chicken will make about one quart/litre of broth.

 

Here is the strained stock/broth.  It's nice and brown because I throw in the roasted skin of the chicken and any juices that were in the take-home sack.

I don't stop with chicken.....I also make fish broth.

I buy a lot of shrimp...mmmm, yum, I love shrimp.

I cook the shrimp for my dinner quickly in a frying pan with a little seasoned butter and olive oil.  As I eat the shrimp, I save all the shells in a freezer bag in the freezer until I have enough for making about 2 cups of stock.  You can save as much as you want, it won't matter.

Make the stock the same as above for the chicken.   Just add water/wine to the shells plus seasoning, simmer for 45-60 minutes, strain, and freeze. 

** If you want a stronger tasting broth, boil away more of the water.  Make it taste to your liking.

I have about 12-15 shrimp shells in 2-3 cups of water when I started.

At the finish of 45 minutes, I have about 2 cups of broth.

The fish broth above was especially flavorful because I added about 1 tablespoon of my compound butter mixture "Cafe de Paris".

I am planning to make a fish stew using the broth to cook pieces of salmon, cod, and more shrimp.  It will be great with a big hunk of crusty French bread on an upcoming cold evening.

Happy cooking!

Mem