Better Chicken Stock

Better Chicken Stock

A few of us are making chicken stock in our pressure cookers, it's not hard, and the ingredients are few and readily available.

Here's two tips that will take it from your usual store bought chicken stock to a richer full flavoured chicken stock that will go much further.

- Use Roasted Chicken.

I'm not suggesting forgoing our favourite roast dinner by tossing it straight into our pressure cookers!

I’m far too thrifty for that!

Serve the roast first and then use the carcass and any left-over meat for your stock.

Don’t forget to remove any stuffing as it will result in a cloudy stock.

It just so happens that the best part of the chicken to use for stock is also the cheapest and the increased ratio of bones will result in a more gelatinous stock.

- Use Chicken Wings.

Just roast them up first or sauté the Chicken Wings well in your pressure cooker with a little olive oil prior to adding the rest of the ingredients.

If you want to go one step further you can also create a mirepoix by sautéing your vegetables in a little olive oil first to add special aromas to your stock, as the French do.

A purist will use only the basics as they may wish to season the stock for each dish differently as it is intended.

One dish may require more salt than another; a different dish may need garlic or thyme and so on.

I prefer to make a versatile basic stock, using rich roasted flavours to be used for a variety of risottos, soups and casseroles.