Three-Way Chicken

This is the first of a series post I have planned, all tied together to yield three separate dishes. I stumbled upon this method while I was trying to make chicken soup; I figured there was great potential if I could design ONE starting method for three dishes. So in no specific order this method will lead to chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumplings, or chicken pot pie. The goal here is to make life easier for people in the kitchen. If you can adapt the singular method, you will also have the skills to make the other dishes. Cool, huh?

The first part is making a stock. I use chicken stock in a lot of my dishes, and while the boxed stuff is convenient and albeit somewhat tasty, homemade stock works as both the cooking vessel and a flavor enhancer. Plus it is pretty easy to set up and walk away from for a while. The first step in this is to assemble and prep your ingredients. For soup and chicken pot pie, I tend to shred my chicken, and for chicken and dumplings I can leave it in pieces or shred it depending on my mood. So prep your chicken accordingly, but I recommend at least quartering your chicken for an easier fit in the pot and easier removal later.

This recipe calls for chicken stock or chicken bullion, which is an oddity to most. But starting with a little bit of flavor base will add a lot to your stock, as I have found most good chicken stocks are made this way. I would probably skip this step if just making homemade chicken stock and not using the meat (if you simmer the stock long enough you really end up not wanting to use the meat). So this will offset the shorter cooking time. If you would rather start with another batch of your homemade stock, all the better. Also, I cannot stress the importance of a decent stock pot. I have one I got at TJ Max that was a steal, so it's not like you have to go drop 100 bucks. But make sure it has a heavy bottom so nothing burns, holds at least 6-8 quarts, and is pretty sturdy. Now that we are set with pots and chicken, we need to get this party started.

Three Way Chicken Step 1- Stock

1 chicken, livers and giblets removed, quartered or chopped into 8 pieces
1 onion, ends removed, quartered
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped in half
1 T olive oil
Water
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
4 stalks fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
4 cups chicken stock or 1 cube chicken bullion

Wash the chicken and vegetables. Tie the herbs up with string or put them in a tea ball (if using, the only one that is a must right now is the bay leaf). Heat the oil in the bottom of a stock pot over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and place skin down in pot, browning slightly on both sides, about 7 minutes. Add vegetables and stir, scraping up any bits that might have stuck. Add the herbs and stock or bullion. Add enough water to cover the chicken by about 2 inches (probably about 2 quarts, but it might be more). Bring to a boil and reduce heat so the stock is simmering. Cook for about an hour to an hour and a half, or until the chicken is starting to fall off the bone. If the water level decreases to below the chicken, add a bit more to bring the level back up. When finished, remove chicken and set aside to cool. Drain stock into a clean pot and skim off fat. Stock and chicken can be made ahead of time and keep for about 5 days (chicken is the limiting factor here) in the fridge.

That is step one, the same method for all dishes. If you want to add a bit more color and well rounded flavor, add about 2 T of tomato paste. Next time, soups on!

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Stock Piling

Chicken stock might be the most drastic change to my cooking repertoire in forever. I grew up using water or milk to make gravies, sauces, and the like, never knowing what I was missing. All the big TV chefs use chicken stock, which I likened to them using gourmet cheeses while everyone else used Colby-jack. Wrong. Chicken stock can add a lot of flavor and layers to your sauce or other cooking liquid. I use it in a lot of my dishes, from pasta sauces to chili to risotto, just to name a few.

Chicken stock comes in four varieties. The first if the kind you make yourself. I will not go into detail here, but my next post (The Three Way Chicken) will detail how to make and store the good stuff. Since I lack the large freezer to store all of my made stock, I usually opt for the second kind, boxed or canned. This stock is pre-made and is pretty much the best way to go. The third way is a flavor base, and the fourth is bullion cubes. As a rule I keep bullion cubes on hand (flavor base is perishable and a waste for me), but I try not to use them too often because they lack a lot of flavor and contain a lot of salt. But more on that in a minute.

There are two general rules I use when buying and using stock. First, use the low sodium stock if possible. You know how you like your food, salt it accordingly and do not let someone else do it for you. A lot of these stocks have heaps and heaps of salt, which can alter my final dish and get me a little peeved. Second, I will not put anything into my dish I would not drink out of hand. This means if you taste the chicken stock (and yes, you should) straight and it's nasty, don't use it! I really like the Swanson low sodium stock or their organic low sodium. Both are tasty and not too overpowering.

When using chicken stock, I like to spice it up a bit for some more flavors. When I make risotto, I add some onion, garlic, and ends of whatever veggies I use for some flavor. When I go Mexican, I add some cumin seeds and a chile pepper. You really cannot hurt your dish by doing this (it makes it a lot easier to season later); just remember to strain your stock before you add it.

Am I leaving out other types of stock? Most certainly. Chicken stock goes well in most dishes, but some will call for beef or fish depending on what you are doing. I tend to not make my own beef stock because a) I do not use it that often and b) it takes a little bit more time than chicken stock. That is not to say they are not useful. Follow the same guidelines when purchasing (low sodium, don’t buy it if you would not use as a soup by itself) and it should work out gloriously. For fish, just use shells and bodies if you want to make your own. Shrimp stock is especially good because you generate the ingredient you need, shells, every time you use shrimp! Vegetarian? Veggie stock has gotten a lot better, though it does not hurt to add a few more ingredients to it to punch the flavor.

So the next time you reach for the sink to thin out your sauce, ask yourself what you might be missing by not stocking your meal.

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