Saturday, April 11, 2009

Chicken wing stock

Chicken stock is the basis of so many dishes. It is also easy to make, and it keeps very well in the freezer. Despite all this, most people buy canned chicken broth in the supermarket, which might approximate the flavor of homemade stock, but it will never do justice to the depth and body real chicken stock can provide. I do buy commercial chicken broth sometimes, but I try to keep a ready supply of homemade chicken stock in the freezer.

We had a surplus of frozen chicken wings that weren't going to get used anytime soon, so I decided to make a luxurious stock made of chicken wings. I heard that chicken wings produce a lot of gelatin, resulting in a chicken stock with incredible body and flavor. I've never done this before, so I put it to the test.

The recipe is simple, and they don't have to be precisely measured. The ingredients below can easily be changed. Every chef has their own preferences. For example, Thomas Keller likes to use leeks instead of celery because he finds celery bitter.

The finished product was a very gelatinous broth that I am sure will enhance any dish. I will post again when I make something with it!

Chicken Wing Stock
Chicken wings
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
parsley stems
thyme
1 garlic clove
2 bay leaves

1. Dump all the ingredients into a pot, cover with water.
2. Simmer for 3-4 hours.
3. Strain.
4. Refrigerate.
5. Once the stock has cooled, scrape the fat off the top.

2 comments:

Victoria said...

This is a very helpful post. I always make my chicken stock following the recipe in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, but this weekend I decided to buy chicken wings instead of a whole chicken to see if it is in fact true that they will make a lovely stock due to the large amount of gelatin. It's cooking now, but I was interested to see if anyone else had tried it without browning the chicken first. By the way, Judy Rodgers recommends salting the stock so I always do that. You should try it sometime; I think it works well even though most chefs advise against it.

katie flynn said...

You should avoid salting the stock, because as the liquid reduces, the flavor intensifies.