Soup Chick®

How to make basic chicken stock

If I were hiring someone to work in my kitchen (and, really, who hasn't fantasized about having his or her very own sous chef to do all of the prep work?), the test I'd give would be the test of stock. Mastery of basic soup stocks -- chicken, beef, fish and vegetable -- identifies a really good soup maker. Best of all, it's easy peasy to make your own stock. Though I often start with a rotisserie chicken carcass, today's chicken stock from scratch is the real deal: a whole chicken, some vegetables, a few peppercorns, and plenty of water. (Yes, technically, this is more a broth than a stock, because I include the meat as well as bones.) I never salt my stock, so I can season to taste when making soup. I like to use my large 7-quart slow cooker (crockpot) for this, but I've included stove top directions as well. Either way, you'll end up with a rich stock, and some boiled chicken meat that's perfect for a chicken salad sandwich.

How (not) to make chicken stock

Two soup-related items came at me from different directions on the same day last week. I don't think it's a coincidence.

First, I discovered that the small market in my village now sells Better than Bouillon (for a whopping $4.99). It's a soup base made from chicken meat with natural chicken juices; the "better" comes from salt, sugar, corn syrup solids, chicken fat, hydrolyzed soy protein, dried whey, flavoring (unspecified), disodium inosinate and guanylate, and turmeric. In that order. Is this better, really, or just sweeter, fattier and saltier than homemade soup stock?

How to make corn stock

On the way to making the quinoa soup you requested from Douglas Rodriguez's Latin Ladles, I discovered this corn stock recipe in the same book, and, it still being corn season here in Rhode Island, I couldn't resist. The kernels went into a stir-fry, and the cobs gave their goodness to the water, enriched by saffron, tomato paste and jalapeño peppers. This aromatic, vegetarian/vegan stock would be a great base for chowders, vegetable soups, maybe a pasta soup with turkey meatballs.... well, you get the idea. It's versatile and unusual, a glorious golden color, and you can freeze it for use well beyond corn season.