At my restaurants, we literally have gallons and gallons of stock on hand to use in soups, broths, sauces, risottos, and more. It adds wonderful flavor to so many dishes. Of course, one of the biggest differences between a restaurant kitchen and a home kitchen is that I've got lots of behind-the-scenes labor to make the chicken, beef, veal, and fish stocks that we use in our dishes.

We keep the bones from the fish, meats, and birds that are served in the dining room to make our stock. Of course, we go through a lot more each day than a home cook would, but you can do something similar by saving the neck when you make a whole roasted chicken -- just save the necks in the freezer, and when you have enough, make your own stock and freeze it in batches to have on hand when you need it.

The old-school way to make a broth is to leave the peel on the onion to give the stock a deep golden color. I prefer to get color by gently roasting the ingredients before adding the water.

Marcus's Chicken Stock

8 chicken necks
2 white onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
2 cloves

Roughly chop the chicken necks. Combine the chicken necks, onion, carrot, bay leaf and cloves in a medium-sized pot. Roast over medium heat for 5 minutes, then add 1 1/2 quarts cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 40 minutes, skimming the foam that rises to the surface.

Remove from heat and let sit for 30 minutes. Strain, discarding the solids.

Divide among 1/4-quart cups and store in the freezer.