Peel, wash and cut in half 4 large carrots, 4 celery ribs with leaves and quarter 1 large yellow. Measure out 1/2 tablespoon whole peppercorns, and 1/2 tablespoon salt.
Wash whole chicken (we use an approximately 5 pound chicken) and be sure to remove the bag with the giblets. You may save them for another use or discard them.
Add whole chicken to 20 quart stock pot with carrots, celery, onion, peppercorns and salt. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken. We added 20 cups of water.
Bring stock pot with chicken and vegetables to a boil. Skim off any foam as necessary. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
Carefully remove the chicken and vegetables onto a platter and set aside to cool. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and save for another use. Consider making the chicken stock over the weekend and using our Chicken Gyro Marinade to make quick Chicken Gyros during the week. Strain the chicken broth, to remove any leftover bits of vegetables, foam and peppercorns.
You can use the chicken stock to make our Cretan Pilafi or our Fithe. We will also be posting 2 new soup recipes, that include this chicken broth very soon, so be on the lookout for those in the next few weeks! You can either refrigerate the chicken stock for 3-4 days or freeze it for up to 3 months. To freeze the chicken stock first allow it to cool down. Once cooled down, add in 4 cup increments to gallon size freezer bags, remove the air, seal, date and label for a future use.