Win Thanksgiving (and Post-Thanksgiving) with Double Stock #vahelpers

Chicken stock—the inarguable empress of the kitchen, the golden panacea, the magical elixir—is a vital pillar of cuisines all over the world. It’s a near universal centerpiece of celebrations, of convalescences, and of holidays—including Thanksgiving dinner, where it is called upon to deepen gravies, baste turkeys, and add a savory jolt to casseroles and gratins. It’s also a substance of nearly limitless combination. Stocks vary in flavor, color, and character depending on the age, size, and butchery of the bird; on whether the chicken goes into the pot raw or roasted; on the proportion of white meat to dark meat to bones; on the temperature and mineral content of the water; on the size and shape of the pot; on the intensity and duration of the cooking process. All this is before the addition of any aromatics—onion, garlic, ginger, star anise, peppercorns, carrots, celery, lemongrass, and the like—which add rich counterpoints of flavor (not to mention regional and cultural character).