NOTE:
We smoked the chicken on the smoker for about 3 hours. We then picked all the chicken off the bones and just placed the carcass in the pot.
Next time, we will cook exactly as this indicates for a little MORE flavor. INGREDIENTS
- 2 5-pound young roasting chickens (whole)
- 6 quarts cold water
- 3 large yellow onions unpeeled and quartered
- 1 head garlic unpeeled and halved, optional
- 6 carrots washed, unpeeled and quartered
- 4 stalks celery with leaves washed & halved
- 2 tablespoons herbes de Provence
- 4 dried bay leaves
- 12 whole cloves
- 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- 1 tablepoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
DIRECTIONS
- Place all ingredients in a 16-20 quart stockpot, and cover with 6 quarts of water.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 2½ hours.
- Carefully transfer the chickens to two large bowls. Remove the chicken meat from the bones and set aside.
- After removing the meat from the bones, place them and the excess broth (from the bones) back into the stockpot. Season to taste – the broth should taste lightly salted.
- Continue cooking the broth another 1½ hours.
- While the broth reduces, cut or shred the chicken meat and save for other meals. (It freezes beautifully.)
- After the stock is finished cooking, strain it over through a colander and discard the remaining solids.
- Refrigerate the stock overnight and remove the surface fat the next day.
- The stock will be slightly gelatinous, but it will liquefy and add a rich, lovely flavor when heated.
- Keep the stock refrigerated and use within 3 days or pour into freezer containers (or zipper bags) and freeze up to 3 months.