Cook Once, Eat Twice: Chicken Stock and Chicken Salad

One Chicken Becomes Dinner and a Freezer Full of Stock

Lorrie Stuart is a serious and creative home cook in New York City. She recently shared her way of turning a whole chicken -- plus some extra bones -- into an appealing chicken salad plus a generous supply of chicken stock for future meal so that we cook once but eat twice (or more). Plus as food prices rise, she's shown us how less than $15 in ingredients can produce a thrifty main course chicken salad for 4 as well as a supply of homemade chicken stock. Lorrie recommends using an organic chicken and chicken bones (hers were from Murray's, bought at Fairway).

Another great tip is that when the stock is fully degreased, boil it down by half and then freeze it in ice cube or muffin trays that you can later transfer to plastic freezer bags for easier storage. You can dilute the stock when you defrost it and it takes less space to store in a small city freezer.

Hers is one of the best examples of cooking to save time and money but without any skimping on flavor. Thank you, Lorrie.

Ingredients

• 5 pounds chicken bones (from Murray's, available at Fairway)
• 1 whole organic chicken (about 4 pounds)
• 5 stalks celery (best to use the inside stalks with the leaves)
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
• 2 large peeled onions
• 2 large carrots, peeled and tips/tops removed
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 whole peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3-4 stalks of fresh, flat-leafed parsley
• 1 generous tablespoon small capers, drained
• 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh tarragon
• 2 teaspoon finely minced fresh shallots
• 1/4-cup Hellman's mayonnaise

Directions

1. Rinse the chicken bones and whole chicken. Remember to remove the giblets inside the chicken.
2. To a large stock pot add the chicken bones, the whole chicken, carrots, garlic cloves, celery stalks and onions.
3. Add water to fill the stock pot up to about 1/2-inch below the top of the pot, covering all the ingredients.
4. Bring to a boil and skim the surface of the water, removing any scum that appears.
5. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme and parsley.
6. Skim again, lower to a gentle simmer and partially cover.
7. After about an hour, remove from the heat.
8. Remove the chicken and let cool to a temperature that's comfortable for you to handle and remove the meat from the carcass, discarding the skin and the bones.
9. When the meat is fully cooled to room temperature, make chicken salad by cutting the meat into generous bite-sized pieces and adding drained capers, chopped shallots, finely minced fresh tarragon and the mayonnaise, adding more to taste (Lorrie is from the south and thus says she likes to use lots of mayo).
10. Adjust the seasonings, including adding salt to taste.
11. Finishing the Stock:
12. Put the stock pot back on the stove (the chicken bones and aromatics are still in the pot) and continue to simmer for about 3 hours.
13. Drain through a colander lined with cheesecloth and let come to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator overnight.
14. The next day, the fat will have risen to the top of the stock. Remove and discard the fat and then again heat the stock, bringing it to a boil and cooking until the quantity reduces by half.
15. Let cool to room temperature and then transfer to ice cube trays or small plastic muffin pans. When frozen, remove the cubes of frozen stock and transfer to plastic freezer bags for easier storage.