Brit's Best

Every time I make soup I think, “Man, I wish I had homemade chicken stock for my recipe.” I would try and use the boxed organic versions of the stuff you can buy at the store but, it’s so expensive and I didn’t always have the money to buy the good stuff. So, I’ll admit I’ve used chicken bullion cubes to make soup. I know, it’s a terrible sin. But, I certainly won’t be doing that anymore. After making chicken stock at home I don’t think I could ever go back to the boxed kind and definitely not to the bullion cubes.

I started by looking for some good recipes online and in my cookbooks. Finally, I settled on a recipe that is in nearly all of Ina Garten’s cookbooks. I modified mine a little from hers though.  Ina’s recipe called for three whole roasting chickens! Well, I don’t have a stock pot that would hold that many chickens. So, I used two. The next step was picking what veggies and herbs I wanted to put in my stock. I mainly followed what Ina had in her recipe but  tweecked them a little. The best part about the veggies was that I didn’t peel any of them I just chopped them up into large chunks and threw them in the pot.

Veggies-

2 whole onions

1 leek ( I rinsed the leek; they can be really dirty)

3 parsnips

6 carrots

1 head of garlic with the top chopped off

Herbs-

Parsley

Dill

Thyme

2 T. Salt

and 30 or so Whole Black Peppercorns

 

 

 

 

So, as you can see my pot was FULL. I added as much water as I could to the pot. I brought the water to a high simmer and let it simmer for about an hour. I skimmed off all of the scum that floated to the surface. After that I lowered the heat to a low simmer and continued to let the stock cook for four hours. Anytime I noticed that a little more water could be added I added it. It was pretty easy after that to just let the stock cook. Low maintenance is definitely a good thing.

After the four hours I took the stock off the heat and let it cool down for about 20-30 min before I strained it. I didn’t want the stock so hot that it would burn me if I sloshed a little. I pored out the stock through a strainer lined with cheese cloth into a large bowl. I had to use two bowl ’cause not all of the stock would fit in just one. I put plastic wrap and the lids to my bowls on and put them in the refrigerator over night.

 

In the morning all of the fat had risen to the top of the bowls and I was able to skim it off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After I had removed all of the fat I put the stock into zip-lock bags, and put them in the freezer for next time I needed some stock.

When you are ready to use the frozen stock just put it into you fridge overnight to let it thaw.

I think that the next time I make chicken stock I’ll go to my local store and ask to buy some chicken leftovers. That is backbones and wingtips whatever extras they have. These parts of the chicken are full of collagen which gives homemade stock that finger lickin’ goodness. I will probably use only one whole chicken and use the extra bits for the rest. This should cut down on cost. I also might be investing in a larger stock pot to yield larger amounts of stock. I got about 10-12 cups after I was through.

Even thought making the chicken stock took me a while it was so worth it. I made some veggie soup with the stock and my brother told me it was the best soup he had ever had! I told him that was quite a compliment. Try this at home and I promise you won’t be disappointed. There is nothing better than homemade stock I am now thoroughly convinced.

Tags: Chickstock, Homemade Chicken Stock

There’s nothing better than a perfectly ripe, juicy and delicious pineapple. But, I always had a hard time deciding which was the best one to choose. I figured if it looked good on the outside and if it was big it would probably be good on the inside. However, after getting home and cutting open a few pineapples I knew that my criteria were not the right ones for picking a good fruit.
My boyfriend’s parents always had the best pineapples so I decided to ask them how they chose theirs. My boyfriend’s dad told me that he knew the secret. It didn’t matter how big it was; if it was mostly green on the outside or yellow. Nope, there were only two things that mattered. If the pineapple smelled like pineapple on the bottom of the fruit (where it had been attached to the plant) and if you could easily pull out one of the center-most leaves on the top you’d get a perfect fruit every time. Well, I’ve been using this method to choose pineapples since he told me and I’ve never gotten a bad one. They are always sweet and juicy.

Btw-
Golden pineapple is the best in my opinion although hard to find sometimes where I live if I get a chance to get one I never let it pass me by.

Tags: food, fruit, Pineapple, ripe

I’m very excited about starting this new blog to go along with my Brit’s Best youtube videos. I decided to add this format to go along with the videos and perhaps add in some extra recipes, techniques, and favorite kitchen items. Overall though, I wanted to express thoughts about where I want to go with these outlets and why I feel they are important. I love making my Brit’s Best videos; sharing my recipes and the step-by-step process of how to prepare them. I feel as though the videos are a great way for many people to see how to make a dish. However, I felt like a blog could be another way for people who maybe don’t have time to watch an entire video to get the recipe. Simply by looking at pictures of a dish, reading about the troubles I encountered when preparing that recipe or tips I have to make your preparation go more smoothly may be helpful in ways that just watching the videos may not be. I also thought that blogging might be a good way to become more adept at food styling. I think that how a dish looks before it is served to you is just as important as how it tastes. And taking pictures of the food will make me more aware of how what I’ve prepared looks and is presented. I look at this blog as a new way for me to try things that may be out of my comfort zone. I want to try to make all kinds of cuisines using new and old ingredients to expand on what I’ve already learned concerning food, cooking, and baking.