Don’t throw out that chicken carcass!  And that goes for your turkey carcass, too.  Although I know you won’t be roasting a turkey nearly as often as you roast chicken, this recipe goes for either bird’s bones.

After you roast The Perfect Chicken courtesy of moi, you can extend the life of your meal by making homemade chicken stock.  And then using the chicken stock in all sorts of great recipes.  Some of which will definitely be provided by yours truly.

So here we go:

Take your entire chicken carcass – after you’ve eaten all the chicken meat, of course – and place it in a very large stock pot.  Add one can of high quality chicken broth.  That may be a little bit of a cheat, but it’s the way I like to start things off, and it’s my recipe, so . . .

Anyway, leave the chicken broth out if you’re some kind of purist.

Next, add to the pot the following:

One whole onion, quartered

Two stalks of celery, each cut in half and two carrots, each cut in half

One head of garlic, but cut it across the top lengthwise, so that all of the cloves are exposed.

One handful of sage leaves.

Fill the pot with water until it covers the chicken entirely.  Set the pot on the stove and bring the water to a gentle boil.  Once the boil starts, reduce the temperature until the stock is simmering, and let it simmer for several hours — or all day, if you want.  Some evaporation will occur, so keep adding water a bit at a time to keep the amount of stock in the pot consistent. You should end up with the same amount of liquid you started the recipe with.  Once the stock is done, remove the pan from the heat, let the stock cool down some, then strain it and store it in containers (I use tupperware-type containers).  You can use within two weeks if you keep it in the refrigerator, or freeze it for later use.

Once you have the stock simmering, your house will fill with the most amazing aromas.  Everyone who walks in the door will say “Mmmmmmm.  What’s that smell?”  and you can impress folks by saying “Oh, I’m just whipping up a pot of chicken stock.”

I spend the whole day on my chicken stock.  If I have to leave, I just turn the pot off until I return.