Author: RJ

While I used the recipe out of Make it Ahead, this recipe is included in ALL of Ina’s cookbooks. It is the same recipe, regardless of which cookbook you use. Also, since it is repeated in each book, it will only be counted as one recipe. For more information on how I determined the number of recipes I will be making for this project, please see my first couple of posts. These can be found using the Archive feature on the homepage.

I finally did it!

I made Ina’s Homemade Chicken Stock recipe! This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a few years and I finally had a chance to do it. I will say, that buying stock at the store is so much easier….and worth it! But, I’m still glad I had this experience. Now, I just need to use it all up within in the next six months!

I have a few photos that document the process that I will post below. But first, my review.

For the most part of making this recipe, things are easy. No peeling vegetables, no chopping or dicing. Just slice things in half and toss into the pot. Then bring it to a boil and simmer for four hours. However, it did take over over an hour to come to a boil even on high heat!

The real work starts AFTER the simmering. It’s when you have to strain everything. First I took a slotted remove to remove some of the larger pieces and that worked okay. I transferred everything into a stainless steel bowl and as it got full, I dumped it into a new garbage bag. That was tricky….and messy.

Once the larger pieces were removed, I poured the contents of the pot over a fine mesh sieve over another stainless steel bowl. More mess was met! Once it was cool, I took a one-cup measure glass and scooped up stock and poured it into the containers. That wasn’t very messy, but a little time-consuming.

After letting the stock cool completely, I put some in the freezer and left some in the fridge for now. I did taste the finished stock and, surprisingly, it was pretty bland. I know can see why Ina adds a lot of salt and pepper to her recipes that call for stock.

While it was fun and and interesting experience, I don’t think I’ll be doing it again. It’s very costly and time-consuming. Not to mention the mess it makes! Maybe, in the future, I’ll cut the recipe in half and make less….that may make things somewhat more manageable.

Here are the pictures with captions.

I hope it turns out that this was worth the effort!