Homemade Chicken Stock

I made chicken stock for the first time the other evening. I have been saving chicken carcasses in the deep freeze since last Summer when we butchered our birds. I had plans to make stock for the winter but never got it accomplished (that's what having a new baby does to you, takes all your spare time!) I finally was able to make my first batch the other night and it was so easy.

First I put the chicken carcass in my large 15 qt pressure canner pot. I had about 3 bags, necks and other random pieces. Next I added 4 carrots, some fresh celery leaves and pieces, an onion, quartered, salt, pepper and parsley. I turned the heat up to high.Once it started boiling I turned it down to simmer and left it. I did skim some of the yuck off the top a few times. I let it simmer all night (about 12 hours).The next morning I let it cool and then pulled out all the chicken bones and veggies. Once I did that I strained the broth through a tea towel to get all the extras out. This left me with a beautiful clean broth.
I was able to then can the stock. I ended up getting 9 pints and 5 quarts. I am so excited to add this to our pantry and it was so easy to do.
This post is linked to Simple Lives Thursday at A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa.