Freezer Work

The freezers are looking a bit more organized and spacious because I've been busy making stock.  I defrosted 3 chicken carcasses and 7 big bags of beef bones to make room for the coming lamb and pork order.

Pressure cooking is the fastest and most effective way to make a lot of stock, so that's what I've been up to these past few days...

Here's the chicken carcasses (left over from roast chicken dinners) covered in onions and herbs from the garden.  An hour is plenty of time in the pressure cooker to make a rich chicken stock - shocking, but true :)   I did the same for the beef bones, but I roasted them in the oven first to give them a nice colour and rich flavour.  I pressure cook beef bones for a little longer as they are bigger and much more meaty - say 1.5 - 2 hours.  

This is what I'm left with - broth, scraps, and meat.  Because of pressure cooking, the meat isn't all rubbery and tasteless, so I do pick it off the bones and use it (or freeze for future use).  I popped the stock into the fridge overnight so that the fat would solidify on top for easier removal.

See how gelatinous the refrigerated broth is?  I stood this spatula up in it!  This is a sign that all the nutrition has been pulled from the bones during cooking (which is the benefit of eating broth/stock from healthy pastured animals).

This was my first attempt at pressure cooking stock for pantry storage.  I'm desperate to free up freezer space!  It seems to have been successful, and in total, I have 6 jars of beef stock and 4 jars of chicken stock.  I love how rich the colour is - all from roasting the bones and pressure cooking.  The flavours are full bodied and delicious.

I'm really looking forward to the ease of use - open and pour.  Slow food made fast! :)