Sometimes you need a little chicken broth or jus to help you add flavor to a dish. I tend to do this with grain dishes as they really are a blank slate for anything that you want to throw at them.
I usually keep pint sized mason jars of homemade stock in the freezer for that very purpose but, having not properly roasted a chicken in a while, I am currently out. Also, I wanted a more intense result than stock to really amp up taste, so came up with this easy jus using chicken wings to help enhance my bulgar wheat dish.
Of course, I was so busy roasting and draining and stirring and adding that I forgot to take a photo. Wooops. Imagine light brown liquid.
1 lb chicken wings
1 shallot, peeled and halved
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Makes about 1 to 1 1/2 cups stock.
Preheat your oven to 400.
Toss the chicken wings in the oil. Salt well and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes, turning at the half way mark.
Remove from the oven and place in a skillet along with any juices that may have appeared on the baking tray. Add the garlic, shallot and bay and enough water to just cover the wings.
Place, covered, at the lowest possible stove top setting and allow to cook for 2 1/2 hours. The water should hardly simmer at all. Top up with a little water if needed during the cooking time.
After 2 1/2 hours, strain the broth through a coffee filter. I usually strip the chicken off of the bones and make chicken salad or use the pieces in a stir fry so as not to waste it.
Wash the skillet and return the liquid to the pan. Cook over medium heat until the liquid has reduced by about half. Check for seasoning and use in sauce, grain dishes or as a base for soup.