Home-made Chicken Stock

My favourite shows on food network are Giada at Home and the Barefoot Contessa. I keep watching the old episodes of these cooking shows, one for I love them and secondly the show time suits my schedule. I can clean the kitchen, the living room, feed the baby, give him a massage and take him for a bath and finish with my lunch, all while Giada is demonstrating the delish relish and while Ina Garten is going back to the basics of French and American cooking.

So, when Ina kept insisting on home-made chicken stock, I just had to make it for my son. He had just turned 10 months old and I had to introduce him to non vegetarian food. Chicken stock seems the best way to introduce his palate to a non-vegetarian life. I was fully inspired to do it on my own for my son. So I took Ina’s recipe and made my own chicken stock. The recipe is here.
The lard can be removed once the chicken stock has frozen and the fat layer solidifies above the stick. The picture below is of stock out of the fridge once the lard was removed. 

The clear fat free Chicken stock, ready to be stored. 

The lard that I removed from the chicken stock after I stored it in the fridge for 24 hrs.

Fried rice prepared by the chicken stock.

I did not have to store it for too long. the chicken stock was used in boiling rice, sautee veggies, and everything one can think of. So it was wiped clean in 5 days. In my experience, it is an easy thing to do initially but the straining of the chicken can be messy if you do not have the right size of containers and devices. Example I did not have a colander  or a juicer, so I used my food processor and a strainer to separate the liquid and solids, the result was messy transfer of the products. Well, the chicken stock was yummy and I guess that's what matters.  I can still smell the aroma of the herbs, while the stock was simmering. the aroma was so decadent it could make anyone hungry anytime.

Happy Cooking!