Chicken Stock

1 carcass of chicken left over after separating off the more useful parts 2 stalks celery, cut into 1" dice 1 carrot, cut into 1" dice 1 yellow onion, cut into 1" dice 48 to 64 oz. water (6 to 8 cups)

Bring to a boil. Skim off the foam. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 3 hours.

Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Strain and reserve the liquid stock. Cover and refrigerate. I usually refrigerate it overnight. Having the stock cold is necessary while vacuum packing, and it also makes it much easier to remove the fat from the stock.

Pick through the solids and reserve any of the large white meat chicken bits for chicken soup.

Remember that there is no added salt in this chicken stock, so you may need to increase the amount of salt in anything you make with it.

I usually find that there's a reasonable amount of chicken bits to make one 16 oz. serving of chicken soup. I vacuum seal the package with just the chicken stock and chicken and freeze. To serve I defrost the bag, bring to a boil, add soba (or other similar) noodles. When almost done, toss in a handful of spinach leaves. Add a little soy sauce and serve.