ok. So I heartily recommend the use of BTB when you need flavor for stuff. It's delicious, and when you need to make soup or something at the last minute it is the best off the shelf option I have found. However, nothing can replace real stock. The depth of flavor is pretty unreal and once you've had soup made with real stock and know what you're missing you might become a soup snob such as myself.
The only thing you really need tool wise for this is a fine mesh strainer.
I'll discuss veggie stock and chicken stock (which can also be beef stock, it just never so happens to be for me). It's all very easy to make and freeze, it's a great way to get more out of your groceries, and like I said above, it's f*cking delicious.
Pretty much any time you deal with vegetables like onions, carrots, garlic, celery, shallots, parsnips, etc you end up with little pieces left over. Tips, tops, greens, skinny stalks that are too weird to really serve to anyone - whatever. I don't throw these away, instead I have a container in my freezer where I keep them. (Don't save just the papery skin of the onion, but save that top layer where papery skin is attached to onion ring) When that bin starts getting full, I put it all in a pot of water with a couple of bay leaves, some parsley, perhaps some more garlic if I have it kicking around and cook it for an hour or two. Start at high until it boils, then down to low and just simmer. It will turn some interesting color, which is how you know the flavors are leaving the veggies and entering the water, thereby making it stock (ta da!!) After an hour or whatever (more is better) let it sit until it sort of cools and then strain it out. Put in fridge, freezer whatever or use right away. If freezing, I always freeze some in ice cubes in case I ever need just a little stock.
Same deal with chicken (or beef) The deliciousness is in the bones and if you use actual chicken stock you made to make chicken soup, you will never go back. There's a couple of ways to do this. The old fashioned way (What Would Nana Do?) is to suppose you've just eaten a whole chicken, or some majority of a chicken and that you have carcass/bones left over. Toss it all into a big pan, if you have any veggie scraps in the freezer add those. Also throw in bay leaf, parsley if you have it, some basil and some oregano (unless you have plans for this stock that would contradict with any of these flavors) If you have no veggie scraps on hand, think about adding an onion, carrot, some garlic and celery - or whatever you have on hand.
If you're doing the bones thing, it needs at least 2 hours to cook. I just toss it all up in there after dinner, let it cook the rest of the night and deal with it before I go to bed. Strain it out into a bowl and decide what you're going to do with it. You can put it in the fridge, come back in the morning and get some of the fat off the top and then use or freeze.
I rarely cook a whole chicken, I more usually buy skinless boneless breasts for cooking. So if I know I want to make chicken soup, then I go to the store and buy 2 bone in skin on breasts and usually a package of some cheap part, like legs or thighs or something. I toss the breasts and a few of the dark meat part into a pot with veggies and spices and some salt and enough water to cover it all. Then cook for a couple of hours (one hour would technically do it if you're pressed for time). It feels like cheating but it's not! When it seems like time, I remove the breasts with tongs and put them on a plate to cool. The rest of it I strain, reserving the liquid and binning the rest (or feeding some of the dark meat to the dog).
So now you have the liquid, which is delicious, and you have the meat which has been simmered to perfection and will fall off the bone in lovely little shreds. You're halfway to chicken soup my friends! Once it's all cool enough to deal with, I saute an onion in some oil (in a big pan), then add the strained stock (you can see the fat and skim some off if you want, but leave some because it's delicious). Add some BTB, because there's no reason to add just plain salt. We like
flavored salt! Toss in a chopped carrot, maybe some celery, the chicken meat and cook for 20 minutes or so. Then add in whatever starch you prefer (noodles, rice, matzah balls) and cook until done.
NOTE: I forget why it happens, if it's skin or whatever but while you're cooking any meat stock if foam starts appearing on the surface just skim it off with a spoon and discard. You can do the same thing with fat, it will hang together in delicious looking little pools which you can skim some of while it's hot.
Another NOTE: Sometimes I buy more than I need, 3-4 boneless breasts. Then I freeze some stock with shredded chicken meat already in it. Then when you want soup all you need to do is add the veggies. There is no reason to eat canned soup when you can do this. Canned soup is not made with love.
