Friday, November 4, 2011

can we talk about this?

So here's my issue with homemade broth for stews and soups. It takes For Ever. Maybe I am doing much more than I need to, so I'm going to run my process by you.

First I roast the chicken parts if I've bought backs and necks, if not skip this step. In the pot go the chicken parts, the frozen carcasses I've saved up for a few months, some onion, celery, a bay leaf and some pepper corns. Water to cover, then cover the pot. Simmer, simmer, simmer. Add more water. Simmer more. By this time I have to leave the house or go to sleep so I turn it off and let it sit. Come back or wake up - simmer, simmer, simmer. Usually about 6 hours of simmering all told.

Off the heat, cool til handle-able, then set the colander over a bowl, break my wrists lifting the giant copper pot and trying to pour the soup out of it. Bones teeter at the angle of repose and then SPLASH down into the broth ruining whatever I am wearing. Push the bones around in the colander trying to get every precious drop out of them. Set soup in fridge to chill. Set colander over plate and let it seep for 20 minutes or so and add the last tablespoon of liquid to the bowl.When soup is set scape the fat off the top.

By this time I've invested easily a day and half and I just can't see wasting this nectar in a stew that is going to completely mask its lusciousness. I want to drink it by thimblefuls, or rub it on my skin, or save it so I can gloat over my incredible good fortune at having  a cup of the ambrosia.

Which brings me to my second beef. All this work, all that chicken, and I end up with at most 2 and a half cups.

Is this how you make it? And you still use it to cook with?

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