d water. It takes about three hours to properly prepare a good chicken broth. But once you get the broth started, it requires little attention.
I rarely go through the bother of buying whole chickens and butchering them at home. When my supply of fresh broth runs low, I simply process a whole bird to replenish it. I don't live in an area where dressed stewing hens are easy to find, so I use a five to six-pound roasting chicken, or capon instead. Both of these will produce five to six quarts of excellent chicken broth, and the leftover meat is used in a variety of recipes.
Once a month my mother would spend an entire Sunday afternoon making a two-gallon batch of fresh chicken broth to share with our elderly neighbors. She would then make something special for dinner using her fresh-made broth. I suggest we do the same, that is, set aside two quarts of this broth, when completed which we will use to prepare one of my mom's best Sunday chicken specials.
Cool the rest of the broth in the refrigerator overnight. The fat will congeal on the surface of the broth, making it easy to remove. You can then pack the clear, fat-free broth in suitable size containers and store them in the freezer for future use.
1 5 to 6 pound stewing hen or roasting chicken
6 quarts cold water
2 medium onions, peeled and cut into quarters
1 celery rib with leaves attached
1 whole carrot
2 bay leaves
8 whole black peppercorns
3 whole cloves
1 piece peeled fresh ginger about one inch long, chopped
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1. Place the chicken and the water in a 10- or 12-quart stockpot. Place the pot on the stove over a low flame and let the water come to a gentle boil. A froth will appear on top. This will take from 45 minutes to one hour. Carefully skim off the froth as it rises to the surface. Do not, for any reason, stir the pot after the froth first begins to appear.
2. The froth will continue to form on top of the broth for about an hour. When it stops foaming, let the broth simmer for about 30 minutes, then add the onions, celery, and carrot.
3. Let the pot return to a simmer while carefully skimming off any more sediment that rises to the surface. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, whole clove, ginger, and salt.
4. Reduce the heat to a point where the broth is barely simmering. Continue to simmer, uncovered, for 1½ hours. If you are using a roasting chicken or capon, remove it at this point and let the stock simmer for another hour. If you are using an old stewing hen (fowl), leave it in the pot until the end.
5. Turn off the heat, remove the stewing hen, if necessary, and let the broth settle and cool.
6. Strain the broth into another pot through several layers of cheese cloth and place the pot in the refrigerator. This is the fastest and safest way to cool a perishable hot food like chicken broth. You can safely let the stock cool, unrefrigerated, for up to 90 minutes before placing it in the refrigerator. If you live in a northern climate, during the winter you can take a pot of hot stock on a cake rack and place it on your back porch for super-fast cooling.
Chicken and dumpling stew
On her recipe card my mom called this dish North Carolina chicken and dumpling stew. Since I have never come across a southern recipe that even remotely resembles this dish, I have removed North Carolina from the title. Regardless of its origin, this recipe truly demonstrates how the subtle richness of a homemade chicken broth, combined with the moist tender flesh of a properly cooked chicken, can elevate a simple dish to an epicure's delight.
Dumplings hold a special place in almost every cuisine. Italian cooks make small dumplings, called gnocchi, with a variety of starches including common all purpose flour, potatoes, semolina flour, pumpkin, and cornmeal. They even make a dumpling using ricotta cheese. In Germany they make serviettenknödel, a tiny light dumpling that usually accompanies pot roasts. In western Austria they make kasnocken, a dumpling made with dry bread and flavored with aged local cheeses. Dumplings are also a large part of Chinese cuisine. On restaur