The White Hat Guide to Seven Freezer Basics

No.1 – Chook Stock

Chook stock is dead easy to make, is dirt cheap and is the starting point for many great meals.

A large bag of chicken bones from your local market or poulterer will cost you just a few dollars. Here in Melbourne we would typically get two full chicken frames for $2 and our preferred source is the Chicken Pantry Stall at the Vic Market that specialises in free range chemical free chicken.

Place a large stock pot on the stove, throw in your chicken bones and enough water to almost cover them. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. I usually add one or two onions cut in half – provided they are clean there is no need to peel them - along with a few bay leaves, some peppercorns and whatever spices take my fancy on the day such as star anise or juniper berries. To the pot you can also add tired old vegetables from the crisper such as celery and carrots. Obviously fresh is better but this is a good way to extract the last goodness from any aging produce rather than just throwing it out.

You can then simmer it for a number of hours before . .

“What was that madam?” “The exact proportions and won’t some flavours overpower the chicken?” “Madam, if what you are looking for is simmer-for-two-and-a-half-hours-with-a-mirepoix-and-neatly-tied-boquet-garni-befor-adding-two-and-a-half-teaspoons-of-chopped-delicate-herbs-then-pressing-through-a-fine-strainer-and-allow-to-cool-on-a-warm-windowsill-under-a-gingham-teatowell-before-passing-through-a-muslin-cloth-then-add-two-small-drops-of-first-pressed-lavender-oil sort of recipe, what you are talking about is chicken stock and you are reading the wrong sort of newsletter. We are making chook stock! Chook stock will stick to your ribs and make you the cuddliest mum or aunty or grandma out there and so healthy that you will live to 100. Chicken stock will give you the body of a supermodel – and the brain of a supermodel. The choice is yours.”

Sorry about that interruption. As the chook stock simmers you may want to use a wooden spoon to crush down the bones of that old baby boomer boiler that is now just a frame but refuses to move on and is blocking your path to promotion and use a skimmer with delight to remove any grey scum that rises to the top as it inevitably does and . . Sorry I got a bit carried away, but cooking chook stock is a good way to release the tensions of a working week.

Leave the stock to cool overnight and next day remove any fat that has formed on the surface. I then prefer to give it another brief boil before removing the bones and other detritus with a skimmer or something similar and then through a colander or strainer of some sort. What you are left with is a cloudy mixture (unlike a poncy chicken stock which attempts to be clear) which can then go back on the stove. After a little more simmering most of the chook stock can be placed in whatever containers you have to hand, ready to go in the freezer. I prefer to reserve some stock to reduce even further into a concentrated form which I then pour into cheap ice cube trays to place in the freezer. I then use these concentrated chicken stock ice cubes to add body to casseroles and curries or anywhere a recipe calls for the conventional salt-laden supermarket stock cubes.

With chook stock in the freezer you need only throw in a few fresh ingredients or some Arborio rice for a risotto and you have a hearty healthy meal for less than a dollar a serve.