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A long long time ago, I created a picture tutorial on how to make chicken stock. Back then, I didn’t even have a stock pot and made my stock in a roasting pan!
Since my last post was a video on how to cut up a chicken, I thought the logical thing to do would be to show you what to do with all the chicken scraps that you are left with after you get all the meaty bits off.
In the video, I go through the process twice. I wanted to show some of the range of possibilities in stock making. One batch is very dark, not super clear, very heavy on the vegetables, deeply flavoured, and seasoned, having been made with what was left from brined and roasted carcasses. This batch was also made in a pot on the stove. The other batch in the video is light, is almost consommé clear, made with fresh raw carcasses, contains no vegetables, and is made in a crock pot. I wanted to show that chicken stock can be made in a variety of ways, but that what you do to it affects the final result.
Different styles of chicken stock are best suited for different applications. For example, when I want to make asian inspired soups, or realy robust dishes, like chili, for example, I would probably want to make a more robust, darker chicken stock for it. When making lightly flavoured dishes, like a simple chicken noodle soup, I would opt for a lighter, milder stock.
This is the second video that I have made. I am still working out some sound issues and learning to edit, so bear with me, these first videos will be a little rough around the edges!
Thursday
Oct 2, 2014
Visit: “How to Cut Up a Chicken”
My post called “How to Cut Up a Chicken” is composed of GIFs that illustrate one method of breaking down a whole chicken into pieces. I have now added a video to that article that shows two methods, the same one in the picture tutorial, and a different one. I hope that the video helps to clearly illustrate the process and that my viewers find it helpful!
Monday
Sep 15, 2014
I rarely buy chicken pieces separately. I do sometimes, like when I just want many of the same cut, like 20 chicken wings for example, and do not want to buy ten whole birds to obtain them. Typically, though, I get a couple of whole chickens each month, and cut them up myself. I remember a time when it seemed like it would be impossible to get all those nice neat cuts out of a whole chicken, but I was wrong. It only takes a couple of minutes, and it is usually cheaper than buying the parts separately, plus you get the carcass which you can use to make stock! I always cut my chicken in such a way as to create boneless breasts. Many videos I see online show people cutting the breast plate in half and leaving it attached to the breast. I suppose this can be desirable for certain uses, but I find boneless chicken breasts far more desirable. Think about it. When you buy chicken breasts, do you look for boneless breasts, or breasts with a bunch of bones and cartilage attached? I have attempted to make this guide clear enough for anyone to understand, so if this is your first time I hope that it is helpful to you.
Monday
Nov 5, 2012