Kitchen Hacks: Buying Chicken Backs for Stock

I consider stock – vegetable, chicken or beef – essential to my kitchen. From Jollof Rice to Fried, stews and other sauces, it changes the game infusing it with rich flavour and essence.

_DSC1282

When I was younger, I used stock that was the result of cooking meat which would accompany the meal. Over time, that changed because of time and the desire to explore. I didn’t have the time or energy to cook up a pot of meat just for the stock and also because I began to serve grilled, stir-fried meats, seafood and other proteins on the side.

But, still I wanted stock.

The first time, I came across Chicken backs was at Spar in Lagos. It was fresh and cost a ridiculous amount. I’m not sure any more if I saw it on the shelves and asked what it was for, if I saw someone buying it and asked or if I figured it out. All. By. Myself. In the end, that doesn’t really matter. What does is I got some and made a batch of regular amazing stock. 

Since then, I’ve continued to use chicken backs for making stock. The benefits:

Price: It is CHEAP

Chicken backs, at  between N200 and N400 / kg, compared with over N1000/ kg for whole or parts is cheap. Full stop. In my 1kg pack, I get 4 backs – which have both bone…and flesh. 

_DSC0074

Bones for stock

Bones bring flavour to stock that only flesh can’t. In Nigeria, our mode of making stock differs from Western cuisine in that we generally don’t roast the bones before cooking – but that’s covered in how to make stock. So yes, you get your bones, for very cheap and you’re home and away. 

_DSC1286

Some people leave the parson’s nose – aka the butt on, some cut it off – the choice lady and gent is yours. 

_DSC1289

And then, you also get some meat

So yes, you get the bones for your stock, but you also get bits of chicken which can go into sauces, sandwiches, stir fries and more. Yes, the quantity isn’t that much but it is a great gift from very little.

_DSC1293

So, there you go – reasons to buy chicken backs and make homemade stock. 

Thank me later. 

I also want to make crispy chicken skin…so saved those too :). Win, win, win.

 

_DSC1294

Resources:

Supermarkets/ stores: f you can’t find on the meat shelves, ask the butchers. You could also get their phone numbers and ask them to reserve for you on a particular day. Any how you want to do it, this is one option.

I’ve seen at Spar and Shoprite

Online: Evron stores sells and delivers chicken bones, fresh.

So there, you never have to run out of stock in your life, you can make it on the cheap.

_DSC1278

xxx

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.