Chicken, in particular Roast Chicken is one of my favourite meals and has been since I was a child! I would often sneak in to the kitchen as my Mum was carving the roast chicken and sneak a piece when I thought no one was looking!
Along with roast potatoes and all the trimmings (including a Yorkshire Pudding) one of the best things about a Roast Chicken Dinner is the gravy and to make a great gravy, you need some great stock...
Portions: Approx 2litres of stock
Ingredients
- 1 Chicken Carcass
- Mirepoix (50% Onions, 25% Carrots and 25% Celery)
- 1/2 a Dozen Small Mushrooms
- Bouquet garni
- Water
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
- Knife
- Chopping Board
- Jug
- Large Bowl
- Sieve
- Strainer/Skimmer
Mise en Place
Instructions
- Put the chicken carcass, vegetables and the bouquet garni in to the slow cooker
- Pour in enough water to cover the chicken carcass and veg up to (but never over) the max fill line of your Pressure Cooker
- Pressure Cook on High for one of the following times:
- 30 minutes for a lighter, cleaner tasting stock
- 60 minutes for a darker, stronger flavour stock
- If in doubt go for something in-between at 45 minutes
- Let the pressure release naturally
- Strain the stock in to a large bowl
- Skim off the fat - an easy way to do this is to allow it to cool and then place in the fridge, the fat will rise to the top and then solidify in the fridge allowing easy removal
- Either use straight away or leave to cool for no longer than 60-90 minutes and then refrigerate (OK for up to 1 week) or freeze (OK for up to 6 months or so). If freezing then I like to use an Ice Cube tray and put the cubes in a bag in the freezer so you can easily take as much as you like/need without any waste.
Pressure Cook, Slow Cook or Cook on the Hob?
Cooking on the gas hob is the way a professional chef will do it and they'll tell you this gives the best flavour. But it takes many hours of supervised cooking. Instead of Pressure Cooking (as I have done in this recipe) you could always slow cook it all for 8 hours on high. I guess it all depends on how much time you have?!
Serving Suggestion(s)
Can be used as a base for a Gravy or a Soup - I love French Onion Soup and this is amazing for that or it goes great with some noodles for chicken and noodle soup (just add a dash of cream for that extra zing)!
