Crock Pot Stock

I may be in Spain at the moment, but that doesn’t insure warm weather. It’s winter here, especially in the mountains. Winter, as in snow!

It calls for soup, maybe stew. But absolutely, stock is required.
Have you ever listened to the big chefs saying that making your own stock is so worth it? I hear the message and resolve to make my own stock. Then repeatedly, I don’t carry through. Yes, this is my experience; the thoughts of simmering something all day just doesn’t fit my schedule. Solutions in Spain are so pragmatic it’s no surprise that this is an idea conceived there. Make stock in the crock pot! It is nothing short of genius and results in the best soups imaginable. Those chefs are right!

Ingredients:

This list of ingredients is very loose. It’s what I used, but amounts can be altered to taste and make the herbs and spices to your liking. I used chicken thighs with skin and bones; thighs are the most flavorable part of the chicken to start with and using pieces with skin on and bones in just sweetens the deal. Let’s get started, ten minutes is all you need; no need to peel anything.

4 plump chicken thighs with skin and bones
1-2 large carrots
1 large yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
1-2 large stalks of celery
parsnips would be nice but I hadn’t any

………….no need to peel;  just chop vegetables into big chunks. Put everything into crock pot with plenty of hot water to cover and cook on high until it gets going, up to 2 hours. Then I turned the  pot to low and added the following seasonings:

salt and pepper to taste
something for heat, I used 2 small dried red chilies
3-4 bay leaves
dried parsley
Italian seasoning, or your choice

………….turn crock pot to low and let it simmer until your chicken is falling off the bone. Remove chicken from the stock and allow it to cool. Remove skin and bones and set aside the chicken. Strain the broth, add chicken back to broth, check for seasoning and voila, you’re set to go