Make chicken stock from a rotisserie chicken

I’m not the kind of person who usually slaves over a hot stove making my own stocks but I do love the flavour of homemade stock. It is so easy to make your own chicken stock from a rotisserie chicken and here’s how.

There’s not usually much leftover from a store bought supermarket chicken. I can usually get about 3 or 4 meals from just one chicken. When it gets to this stage, I know it’s ready to be made into stock.

I remove any meat left and save it for sandwiches, pies, a mornay sauce or soup and remove any seasoning (stuffing).

Recipe

Into a saucepan I cover the carcass with water and add a large chopped carrot, an onion (no need to remove the skin), celery (if I have it), dried herbs like thyme and salt and pepper.

Boil for about 15 to 20 minutes and strain into a sieve ensuring you have a bowl to catch all the stock. You can also do this in the slow cooker on low for about 2 hours. (Don’t worry. I’ve strained the stock straight over the sink a couple times right down the drain.)

Your stock is now ready to be used for any dish. It’s that easy. You can put 1 cup quantities in a ziplock bag and freeze for dishes down the track. Freeze into ice cube trays or the whole lot into a freezable container. I was planning soup for this lot so I kept it in the fridge until the next day when I made soup. Homemade stock has such a wonderful, deep, rich flavour. I normally use stock powder but there really is no comparison. You should give it a try sometime.

One pot roast chicken & potatoes

As much as I love to cook anything from breakfast to the evening meal to baked goods, I often get stumped over the most simplest of ingredients, that being chicken and beef. There has to be about 3 trillion recipes for each but sometimes you’re just spoilt for choice. I had chicken legs defrosted and really wasn’t feeling inspired. A quick ‘google’ and a recipe showed up for “Chicken Drumsticks and Roast Potatoes in a Rich Tomato Sauce“. I’ve just adjusted it here and there and called it a “One Pot Roast Chicken & Potatoes” dish. It was quick, easy and tasty. Just what I needed after a busy day.

One Pot Roast Chicken & Potatoes
(based on “Chicken drumstick and roast potatoes in a rich tomato sauce“)

chicken drumsticks or pieces
potatoes, peeled, cut into quarters
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste/ketchup
3 teaspoons dried rosemary or thyme
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
steamed vegetables, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Place drumsticks and potatoes in a single layer in a large roasting pan. Combine stock and tomato paste/ketchup in a small saucepan over a medium/low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until combined. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Combine rosemary, paprika, salt and pepper in a bowl. Sprinkle over chicken and potatoes. Sprinkle garlic over chicken and potatoes. Pour stock mixture into base of roasting pan (do not pour over chicken). Drizzle oil over chicken and potatoes. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
3. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve with steamed vegetables.

Note:  I added a teaspoon of instant gravy powder mixed with a little water to the sauce and stirred until thickened on the stove top.