From Chookhouse to pot

It was time for the old laying hens to go!! So early in the morning we did the deed. Our original chopping block and fallen apart so T had to make a dash down to the local park where an old ironbark had been felled after a storm and the blocks of wood had been left lying about. We spent a hour plucking and cleaning the two birds, separating the gizzards, livers and excess fat from the carcasses. The next day it was into the pot with lots of water, carrots, onions, celery, herbs and black pepper. A good stock requires lots of simmering especially tough old birds like these, so it cooked most of the day and reduced down to about eight litres of very dark rich stock. The stock was then strained, left overnight to settle out the residue and cool the fat on top making it easier to skim off. Now it is all in containers in the freezer ready for use. The gizzards, livers etc. all went into a Spanish chicken stew and the very happy dog had a feast on the leftover chicken meat from the stock. Free range chooks like these make the BEST tasting stock, it has a rich chicken flavour so much better than the insipid commercial chook.