How to make chicken stock and bouillon cubes

For a flavourful base for soups, stews and everything in between, learn to make your very own chicken stock and bouillon cubes.

Making your own chicken stock is a rewarding feeling. What's more, you can use the same technique to make turkey stock with your leftover holiday bird.

Makes 2 litres (8 cups)

• 2.5 kg (5 1/2 lb) stewing hen or 1 kg (2 lb) chicken wing tips, necks and backs
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 1 leek, sliced
• 6 sprigs fresh parsley
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf5 ml (1 tsp) salt
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) black peppercorns1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine all the ingredients. Add enough water to cover the chicken mixture (about 2.5 litres, or 10 to 12 cups). Over moderately low heat, bring the mixture slowly to a boil, using a slotted spoon to skim off and discard any fat or scum that rises to the surface.
  2. Reduce the heat, partly cover the pot and simmer gently until the stock is well flavoured, about three hours. The longer you simmer the stock, the richer the flavour.
  3. Line a fine sieve with cheesecloth and set it over a large bowl. Slowly pour the stock through the sieve; discard the solids. Let the stock cool to room temperature. Pour the stock into serving-size, airtight containers; cover, label and date. Store the stock in the refrigerator for a week or freeze for up to six months. If fat congeals on top of the stock while refrigerated or frozen, remove and discard before using the stock.

No one can deny the convenience of bouillon cubes, but you don't have to spend your hard-earned money to have them on hand.

• When cooking a pot of stock, occasionally cook the liquid down to 500 millilitres (two cups) — it will be thick and intense in both flavour and colour.
• Let the reduced stock cool completely, then pour it into ice-cube trays and place the trays in the freezer.
• When the stock cubes are solid, remove them from the ice-cube trays, wrap each in foil and store the cubes in a labelled and dated freezer bag.
• Each cube will make 250 millilitres (one cup) of soup.

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