Quick Chicken Stock

This recipe's based on Bittman and, in this particular case, modified to include some ginger that was getting soggy and to disinclude some parsley that I didn't have. We'll see how it turns out.

• 2 lbs. chicken thighs
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 small onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 small stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 3-4 in. knob of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 7 cups water

Throw everything in a large pot and bring just about to a boil.

Partially cover the pot, and reduce heat so the liquid's very gently bubbling. Cook for 30-40 minutes, till chicken is done.

Remove thighs; debone and reserve meat. (Actually, at 40 mins., the stock was still kind of meh, so I took the meat off the bones and reserved it, then threw the bones back in the pot for another 20 mins. Let's see how it goes.)

Strain the stock, pressing down hard with a wooden spoon or something similar to extract the maximum amount of juice from the veggie solids.

Freeze or use stock and chicken (will be doing the latter with both, presently).