How to use Chicken Stock

I have written and talked to people at great length about how to make a great chicken stock and how to stretch your grocery budget by using a leftover chicken carcass to do it. What never occured to me, what I never would have realized in my wildest dreams if not informed by someone attending one of my classes, is that they had no idea what to use chicken stock for. As a chef I know that I sometimes take my knowledge and skills for granted. Things that I find easy or can do very quickly, others may take a great deal of time and find difficult to complete. But it really never occured to me that people wouldn’t know how to use chicken stock when it is something that myself and Chefs and cooks like me use everyday.  So, this isn’t about how to make chicken stock. It’s about what to do with it once you have it.

Ok so, think of chicken stock like flavoured water. It tastes mildly of chicken and vegetables. With this in mind think of recipes where you use water that a little more flavour may be useful. For example, cook rice in chicken stock rather than plain water. It will have more flavour. Need to add a few tbsp of water to loosen up a sauce? Use chicken stock. Want to make a soup with a bit more depth? Use chicken stock in place of some or all of the water. .
Chicken stock has such a mild flavour that it can be used with fish, pork, beef, vegetables, or of course chicken. Again just think of it as flavoured water and us it as such. It also freezes well in ice cube trays so you can take out a few cubes at a time as needed.
Next time you roast a chicken try making some stock and use it. You will never look back.