Two Holiday Essentials: 18-hour, Homemade Crockpot Chicken Stock & Homemade Rosemary and Garlic Seasoning Salt
By Heidi Allison
Note from Heidi:
These colors do not mean the stock is burned, bitter or overdone. It's perfect! I'm providing the home cook a professional culinary technique at a fraction if the effort.
For the busy, upcoming holiday cooking feasts of Christmas, Hanukah and New Year’s Eve, here are two recipes that will take your meals from merely good to great: an exquisite, rich and deeply-flavored chicken broth that takes no effort on your part... its done in a crock pot, and, a superb, freshly-prepared seasoning salt that beats anything you’ll ever find in a market. These two recipes are so good, they will stay in your culinary repertoire all year: they are simple enough that even your kids can prepare them and require less than 5 ingredients each!
The stock is done in the French fashion—long and slow but at a fraction of the effort. The rich, dark golden color and intense chicken flavor of the stock bears little resemblance to the light-colored, insipid (and, without character) watery fare we buy in a can or carton... This recipe delivers extraordinary chicken flavor and aroma. Just be sure not to skimp on the allotted time. You know you're getting close when the house fills with the aroma of chicken, and the onion and leek tops have caramelized to a dark, almost black-brown. Use this versatile stock in gravies, soups and stuffings.
The Rosemary and Garlic Salt is a mainstay in my kitchen and is great on skillet potatoes, roasted chicken or lamb, roasted veggies, gravies, soups, stuffings, ham sandwiches and deviled eggs—even salads. It enhances everything it touches!
18-hour Crockpot Chicken Stock
Makes: 4½ cups
1 Organic Chicken
1 small, Sweet White Onion, cut in half
Green tops of 1 Leek Stalk
2 Organic Carrots, peeled
5 cups Water
Preparation:
Clean chicken by sprinkling kosher flake salt over chicken and inside cavity, then lightly massage. Rinse outside of chicken and cavity with cool water and place inside a 4.5 quart crockpot and top with onion, leek tops carrots and water.
Place on high until it bubbles form—about 4-5 hours.
Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for an additional 12 hours and see the green leek tops and onion turn dark brown. Remove veggies and chicken and strain stock through a sieve. Place in a container and cover, then refrigerate. Remove fat when it rises to the top.
Keeps 1 week and freezes well.
Rosemary and Garlic Salt
Makes: 1 cup
Ingredients:
1 cup Kosher Flake Salt
3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, leaves removed
3 cloves Garlic, peeled
Zest of ¼ small Lemon
Preparation:
Place salt, rosemary, garlic and lemon zest in a blender or vitamin and process until salt turns green. remove and place in a container and refrigerate.
Note from Heidi:
These colors do not mean the stock is burned, bitter or overdone. It's perfect! I'm providing the home cook a professional culinary technique at a fraction if the effort.
For the busy, upcoming holiday cooking feasts of Christmas, Hanukah and New Year’s Eve, here are two recipes that will take your meals from merely good to great: an exquisite, rich and deeply-flavored chicken broth that takes no effort on your part... its done in a crock pot, and, a superb, freshly-prepared seasoning salt that beats anything you’ll ever find in a market. These two recipes are so good, they will stay in your culinary repertoire all year: they are simple enough that even your kids can prepare them and require less than 5 ingredients each!
The stock is done in the French fashion—long and slow but at a fraction of the effort. The rich, dark golden color and intense chicken flavor of the stock bears little resemblance to the light-colored, insipid (and, without character) watery fare we buy in a can or carton... This recipe delivers extraordinary chicken flavor and aroma. Just be sure not to skimp on the allotted time. You know you're getting close when the house fills with the aroma of chicken, and the onion and leek tops have caramelized to a dark, almost black-brown. Use this versatile stock in gravies, soups and stuffings.
The Rosemary and Garlic Salt is a mainstay in my kitchen and is great on skillet potatoes, roasted chicken or lamb, roasted veggies, gravies, soups, stuffings, ham sandwiches and deviled eggs—even salads. It enhances everything it touches!
18-hour Crockpot Chicken Stock
Makes: 4½ cups
1 Organic Chicken
1 small, Sweet White Onion, cut in half
Green tops of 1 Leek Stalk
2 Organic Carrots, peeled
5 cups Water
Preparation:
Clean chicken by sprinkling kosher flake salt over chicken and inside cavity, then lightly massage. Rinse outside of chicken and cavity with cool water and place inside a 4.5 quart crockpot and top with onion, leek tops carrots and water.
Place on high until it bubbles form—about 4-5 hours.
Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for an additional 12 hours and see the green leek tops and onion turn dark brown. Remove veggies and chicken and strain stock through a sieve. Place in a container and cover, then refrigerate. Remove fat when it rises to the top.
Keeps 1 week and freezes well.
Rosemary and Garlic Salt
Makes: 1 cup
Ingredients:
1 cup Kosher Flake Salt
3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, leaves removed
3 cloves Garlic, peeled
Zest of ¼ small Lemon
Preparation:
Place salt, rosemary, garlic and lemon zest in a blender or vitamin and process until salt turns green. remove and place in a container and refrigerate.
