9/14/08 -- Chicken Broth

My wife is making broth from the remains of a chicken she cooked last week. These are my notes on the process:

• In a stock pot, boil up some water with a few bay leaves in it.
• While that is heating up, chop up some vegetables. This time, she used carrots, onion, and bell pepper. Apparently celery would have been included as well, had we had any. A food processor is ideal for this.
• Once the water starts to boil, put in the veggies, the chicken carcass, and some herbs. My wife is fond of her home-grown herbs, and this particular broth includes fresh-cut rosemary and basil. When I asked her to remind me what she put in so I could make these notes, she remembered that she had some sage, which soon found itself swimming with the rest of the stock.
• The whole concoction is brought to a rolling boil, and then reduced to a simmer (we consulted this page on the matter). I got left to keep an eye on it, while she went upstairs for a shower (this is all happening on Saturday night, after she got home from work).
• The simmering continues for a couple of hours or so, and then all the solid bits are either removed or strained out. The broth is cooled by sitting in a bowl nested inside another bowl containing ice water, then boxed up into plastic boxes (Yea, Chinese take-out soup!), and placed in the freezer.
• While this last process is going on, my wife cleans the last of the meat off the bones. Tomorrow (later today, technically), this will become her famous chicken soup!