Chef Karen's Blog

This is where I add inspiration, recipes and my thoughts on all things food and art. Viva Tastings is a culinary events and cooking class company staging corporate team building events and private parties in Toronto. Chef Karen is in the process of writing a cookbook, so look out for some of the recipes on her blog.

Liquid Gold - Homemade Chicken Stock

How much can I praise chicken stock or any kind of bone stock? This is clearly liquid gold. I use it in just about all of my recipes, and I spice it up to drink as a bone broth for a mid-morning pick-me-up. From a health perspective, I could go on forever, but let's just say that this may save your life. See my blog post on Bone Broth, it's benefits and some recipes to try. GO TO BLOG POST ON BONE BROTH

You can gather your chicken bones by saving and freezing them overtime when deboning chicken breasts or you can find a butcher who sells bones and sometimes if you are a regular, you may even get them for free. If you live in a large city like Toronto, our St. Lawrence Market has several butchers who sell them for $2 a bag - about 6 lbs.

Busy People: You can purchase really great stock from your local butcher for a fair price. In Toronto, you will find this at Sanagan's Meat Locker in Kensington Market, and Cumbrae's on Queen Street West and on Bayview. I am sure there are other independent butchers in your area that you can source this from. Just beware of mass-produced canned stock - it probably doesn't have the collegian and other good things that you need in your diet.

Recipe for Homemade Chicken Stock

bone broth craze - what’s that all about?

Is bone broth a new craze or a flash from the past? As far back as the 1930's doctors were prescribing bone broth for many ailments. If you were lucky and your parents had time, you were probably given chicken soup when you were ill. Chicken soup made from scratch has always been the potion of choice for self-healing at home, bone broth is not a new phenomenon.

Stock or bone broth as people are calling it today is an essential part of a culinary tradition known all over the world to both indigenous cultures and classic cuisines. It has been the cornerstone of my cooking ever since I studied Cordon Bleu techniques. Bone broth is in just about everything I make. So, if you are a customer, you have been benefiting from our homemade bone broth on a regular basis in our meals and soups.