A few nights ago we had a won­der­ful rotis­serie chicken din­ner with our old­est friends, Dan and Deb­bie, and their three dar­ling girls. With Thanks­giv­ing around the cor­ner, I was eying their chicken car­casses. When they told me they were going to throw them out, I imme­di­ately asked if I could have them. Because Dan knows me, he just smiled and nod­ded. It’s not every­day a guest asks to bring home the rem­nants of two chick­ens picked clean. But then again, we’re not really guests.

You can absolutely buy chicken broth ready made, even organic – it’s a great short cut that I often rely on. But if you have the time and more impor­tantly, left­overs, this is a way to make use of the entire bird, get­ting as much out of your pur­chase as pos­si­ble. Plus, if you have night­shade aller­gies (it’s almost impos­si­ble to find a stock with­out paprika), then this is an easy alter­na­tive that pro­duces a rich, com­plex broth.

I col­lect car­casses and keep them in my freezer until I’m ready to use them. I like to use no less than two and prefer­ably three at a time. This recipe uses two, because I think that is more real­is­tic for the home cook. You can use the stock as a base for hearty Chicken & Rice Soup and Hol­i­day Rice Pilaf.

Prep time: 10 min­utes
Total time: 3 hours, 10 min­utes
Yield 2 quarts (8 cups)

2 chicken car­casses
1 yel­low onion, skin removed, cut in half
2 car­rots, cut into thirds
3 cel­ery ribs, cut into thirds
2 bay leaves, torn in half
9 cups water
10 whole black pep­per­corns
1 tsp. salt

1. Place all ingre­di­ents into heavy stock pot and heat to high, mak­ing sure that the car­casses are cov­ered by water. If not, then break the car­casses apart with your hands.
2. Bring the stock boils, reduce heat and sim­mer uncov­ered, for 3 hours. Skim the top reg­u­larly for a clearer stock.
3. Drain stock through fine mesh sieve and add more salt if nec­es­sary. Dis­card solids and skim any fat.
4. Use imme­di­ately or cool com­pletely then refrig­er­ate, cov­ered, overnight.
5. Next day, skim any solid fat off the top. The stock will keep for 5 days, but it freezes per­fectly. Make sure you leave 1/2 inch space between stock and lid. Or freeze in ice cube trays, pop­ping 6 out when you need a cup for sauces.