Chicken Chili With Fire Roasted Peppers - stock

Method

• De-bone the chicken by removing the breasts, then the leg and thigh portions (connected). Keep the breasts and legs sealed in the refrigerated until later. Using a "junk knife", cut the chicken bones into about three smaller pieces.
• Place the bones into a stock pot and add the neck bone. Fill the pot with water until the bones are covered by a few inches. Place the stock pot on a burner over high heat. Allow the water to reach a low boil, and then reduce the heat to low so that it barely simmers.
• For the next 15 minutes or so, hang out by your stock pot and skim off all of the scum that rises to the surface. When the scum ceases to appear, add a half of a handful of whole pepper corns, three bay leaves and a tablespoon of dried thyme. Then, your stock is on auto pilot for as long as you can manage. 6-8 hours would be ideal, but you can get away with 3-4 if you don't have the time.
• When you reach a point where you have about 2 hours of simmering time left, add your carrots, celery, onion and parsley. Also add the two leg portions from the chicken. Continue to simmer for 2 hours. When time is up, turn off the burner and pour the liquid through a strainer or colander into a clean container. Cool it rapidly using an ice bath or frozen wand. Allow the bones and vegetables to cool down a bit and then place them in a separate container. Place both containers of stock and solids into the refrigerator and leave them over night.
• Place the red, green and jalapeno peppers directly over the flames of a gas burner or grill. Continuously rotate them every minute or so until they are thoroughly charred all over, then turn off the burners and place them aside on a plate to cool. Once cooled, remove all the seeds from the peppers. Dice the red and green peppers and mince the jalapeno.
• Place a soup pot over medium heat and add a small amount of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute for about three minutes. Add the garlic, the roasted peppers and all of the spices and give everything a good stir. Add about a quart of your stock to the soup pot. Continue to cook on medium heat until the stock has heated and reaches a simmer.
• Meanwhile, while the soup is heating, take the container of stock solids out of the refrigerator. Separate the carrots and set aside. Using clean hands, remove all of the meat from the leg portions as well as any meat that was left on the bones. Discard everything except the meat and carrots. Dice the cooked carrots and roughly chop the meat, then add them to the pot. Also, add the drained black beans and white kidney beans. Chop the canned tomatoes and add them to the pot along with half of the tomato juice from the can.
• Simmer the soup for about 30 minutes. Taste and correct the seasoning as you go. Add additional stock or water if needed. After 30 minutes of simmering, add the cream slowly while stirring. The soup is ready to enjoy and the left over will taste twice as good the next day.