It’s so simple to freeze stock in cubes – I don’t know why I didn’t think to do that before. Suddenly when you spend so much time cooking food you realize you can’t bear to waste any of it. Oh the things I’ve thrown away…

We seem to eat so much soup this time of year that I can’t keep us in broth! My chicken farmer charges us extra for the stock kits so I simply use the carcass after roasting, or if bbq I typically don’t grill the back or wing tips and reserve those for stock as well. I do frequently buy feet at the farmer’s market since they are very inexpensive and feet & heads are the secret ingredient in getting the stock so gelatinous. You coule stand a metal knife up in my broth when it’s in the fridge. The fish stock was like that too because I used the heads.

I have a little guy right now who refuses to eat mostly so I’m making sure he gets the cream off the top to drink. He doesn’t care for butter believe it or not so right now all the extra nutrient dense calories in the house first go to him. I give him the cream mixed with raw egg yolks from our pastured chickens and some honey & spices. Why waste that opportunity for just milk when he could be drinking a nutrient dense omelette?

I can’t wait for this phase to pass though so we can make butter because I know the kids will love it (and then maybe if he made the butter he WOULD eat it!)

For now I’m culturing my buttermilk for baking but it’s a much more efficient use of nutrients in general to make butter with it – you are right.

I never thought I would put so much thought into nutrient distribution between family members and how to maximize resources s the one in need gets the most! Ah the joys of parenting…

I just make a large pot every ten days, which yields about a gallon of stock. I use about a quarter of that for soup (last week I made a very rich chicken & root veggie soup using the meat from the necks) and the rest of the stock, we usually have a bowl of it every night, with dinner (as S. Fallon and Dr. Enig recommend).

I’ll try turning it off overnight when I make my next batch, yes, that way I could simmer it for 24 hours and, hopefully, get it to gel (so far only the chicken stock gets a bit gelatinous but not as much as I’d like it to, even when using a whole chicken).

I know what you mean about the milk but, if you skim most of the cream from three half gallons, you’ll get about half a liter of cream which will yield about a third of its weight in butter and the rest in buttermilk that you can use for baking. I shake the cream in a quart-size mason jar with a plastic lid – the cream must be at room temperature. It takes about 15 minutes.

Incidentally, what I learned this year about CSA chickens is that the butcher bags necks and hearts/livers at no charge to the farmer. The necks make the most flavorful stock, be sure to ask for them.

You must have a ton of stock! I’ve come to peace with the stove being on but I was very nervous at first. Old timers say it’s ok to turn it off overnight and in the morning continue simmering for hours, which I’ve also done and then I’ve also put the lid on the pot and put it outside overnight since the temp is cool enough to refrigerate it.

Our raw milk is pretty pricey to use for butter but I’ve really been wanting to try! I’ll put that on my list along with sprouting & dehydrating grain for flour. It’s fun to have new experiments to look forward to!

I’m trying to catch up with your post. As always, you are uber busy creating wonderful things for your family.

I’ve been making stock every week since I joined a local farm’s csa, a few months ago, but I haven’t followed Fallon’s recipe because I just can’t get used to the idea of having the stove on for so many ours so I just simmer gently for up to six hours. Been making beef (from leg bones) and chicken (from chicken necks). Speaking of chicken necks, the ones I’m getting from the farm are huge and full of meat; I’m sure you know what I mean but most people would think I was cooking duck necks!

Anyway, in one of your posts, can’t find it now, I think you wrote about having to buy butter? I buy one an a half gallons of raw milk per week which has enough cream to make a nice amount of butter (I had no idea homemade butter was so easy to make, btw). If the cream you get in your milk isn’t enough, perhaps you could ask the lady you buy the milk from if she could add more cream to yours or just bring a separate quart of cream?

I’ve been looking at your beautiful photos. So inspiring! Thanks.