Pressure Cooker Chicken Stock

Every couple of months one of my local grocery stores has a good sale on local free range chickens. I've learned that stocking up when they are on sale and then "shopping from my freezer" can save me a lot of money ... plus the convenience of not having to shop as often (which also saves money ... I live 15 miles from the nearest town and gas is expensive!). I usually buy 6 or 7 chickens at a time, put a few whole into the freezer and cut up the rest ...

 

I pretty much follow these direction except that I leave the wings attached to the back and take the breast meat off and leave the bone behind.  I end up with this ...

Ready to be packaged and popped into the freezer ... and this ...

... some of which will become stock right away and some frozen for later.

I use a lot of chicken stock in my cooking so I go through it pretty fast.  I can quite a bit but sometimes run out.  I've learned to use my pressure canner to make a quick batch of stock when my canned stores run low.  I've mentioned in previous posts that I save all the trimmings from vegetables in a freezer bag for stock making ...

... so when I need a quick batch of stock I take a frozen carcass and some of the frozen veggies ...

... and pop them into a 450 degree oven for about an hour.  Browning the bones and vegetables will give the stock a rich brown color and add to the depth of flavor ( I skip this step if I want a light colored stock for Asian cooking). After about an hour the chicken and veggies will look like this ...

Now I just transfer them all into my pressure cooker, fill it with water up to the two thirds full mark (follow the directions for your own cooker; mine is a Presto 6 quart stainless steel model ... I love it!)  Add a handful of fresh parsley, a couple of bay leaves and a few whole black peppercorns.

Then cover the cooker, bring up to pressure (again, follow the directions for your own cooker), and cook for 20 minutes.  

Allow the cooker to cool off, open and ...

Ta Dah!  Rich brown stock the same as if it had simmered all day!  Strain out the bones and veggies (my dogs love the cooked carrots and celery!) and freeze or store in the refrigerator for 4 or 5 days.  

Enjoy!