This is a good way to not let anything go to waste--after you're done with a whole chicken, you use what's left (bones, neck bone, gizzard, liver, skin, and any leftover meat) along with some vegetables to make the stock. The stock is a wonderful way to add flavor to your cooking--it thickens soups, enriches Spanish rice, and seasons lima beans. I even have a recipe I made up that gets rid of leftover meat and vegetables and the stock is what makes it palatable.
Stock also adds nutrition to the food you put it in. The process of cooking the bones slowly for several hours means that Vitamin D and other such nutrition is extracted from the otherwise inedible bones into the broth and added to the food you cook in the stock. It's also a way to add the liver to your diet without "eating liver" (because if you're like me, liver is just downright gross!).
Along these lines, it's good to know that Vitamin D (which you are likely cooking out of the bones) and Vitamin A (which you are likely cooking out of the skin and liver) and a few other such things are FAT-soluble. As the stock cooks, you will see a layer of scum forming on the surface of the water. This is fat, and many people skim it off. If you are on a low fat diet for health reasons, then I would advise you to do that. However, when you skim off that scum you will be losing 1/2 to 3/4 of those fat-soluble vitamins in that discarded fat. While I believe most people do eat too much fat in their diet, I do not find fault with the fat itself but rather with where it is coming from. I do cut visible fat off of my meat, and I always skin chicken before eating it as there is a layer of fat under it. However, I do not skim the scum off my stock as this is kind of defeating the purpose of cooking it!
This recipe makes an unbelievable amount of stock. You can freeze it for several months. You can also reduce it by simmering the stock until enough water has evaporated out of it and the desired volume is achieved.
Get creative; this stock will not disappoint!
1. Put the leftover bones and skin (and liver!) from a chicken carcass into a large stock pot and cover with cold water.
2. Add veggies like celery (including leaves), onion, carrots, parsley.
3. Add salt and pepper, about 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper.
4. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to bring the stock to a high simmer.
5. Simmer uncovered at least 4 hours (I prefer 6 to 8 hours), occassionally skimming off the foam that comes to the surface if desired. You may need to add water occasionally to keep it from simmering dry.
6. Remove the bones and strain the stock. Discard the solids (bones and veggies) and store the stock (broth). 7. If making stock for future use in soup you may want to reduce the stock by simmering a few hours longer to make it more concentrated and easier to store.
