A couple of weeks ago I posted about how to brine and roast a chicken where I wrote how I always assumed that everyone realized that roasting a chicken was easy and how that assumption made an “ass out of u and me.” My second assumption was that people also knew how easy it was to make chicken stock and did not need me to provide that information. Again, I was disabused of this notion.
So, here we are with my easy-peasy recipe for home made chicken stock. You don’t need much more than a big soup pot, the leftover bones from that roasted chicken, and some vegetable odds and ends. There are a couple of options here as to how you make the stock.
Option #1 is the recipe below where the chicken bones are roasted first with onions. This results in a nice rich stock with a dark brown color which is perfect for stews, some soups and darker beans where color is not important or the darker color is wanted. Roasting the onion also enhances the flavor of the stock. Within this option there is a secondary choice to be made (option “B” below) which is how you cook the stock; on the stove top or in the oven. On the stove top is faster and yields great results. Cooking the stock in the oven is a slower process but gives you a highly reduced rich stock (almost the chicken equivelent to a demi glace) without much effort.
Option #2 is for a light clear stock. In this one, don’t roast the chicken bones and the onion, just skip the roasting step and put everything into the pot of water and bring to a simmer. This is stock you would use in a cream soup, maybe in white beans, or something which calls for a light broth. It still has plenty of flavor and given that it has one less step is slightly easier. For this one, don’t use the oven method as it might darken the color too much.
As for the vegetables, don’t be afraid to use those limp carrots and celery from the back of the crisper bin, they will be just fine. I’ve been known to save the odds and ends and put them in a heavy plastic bag in the freezer until I’m ready to make stock as well. When I worked in a restaurant kitchen we used to throw the carrot peels, celery tops, parsley stems, and just about everything else into the stock.
Finally, I don’t add salt to the stock. I prefer to save the addition of salt for when I use the stock later. Most commercially made chicken stock is very high in sodium which is why you now see “low sodium” stock on the shelves.
Home Made Chicken Stock Recipe
Printable Recipe in PDF
1 chicken carcass (bones from roasted chicken)
2 onions, sliced or quartered, including skins
8 oz carrots
10 oz celery (ends and tips)
fresh herbs like parsley stems, thyme, rosemary, etc.
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
water (about 5 quarts)
Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the chicken bones and sliced onions in a roasting pan and roast for about 30 minutes total. After the first 15 minutes, turn the onions over so both sides get browned.
Transfer the browned chicken bones and onions to a 6 qt pot (I’ve had the All Clad 6 qt stock pot
Cover with cold water, about 5 quarts.
Bring to a simmer (do not boil) and cook for about 2 hours. If the amount of water gets below the bones and vegetables you can add more to cover. After a couple of hours, it’s ready to use. However, if you want it to be more concentrated, you can allow it to cook longer, until it reduces by about 1/3 the total volume.
Option B is to cook the stock in the pot (once you have brought it to a simmer) in the oven at 200 degrees, uncovered for 6-8 hours. This gives the stock a low, even cooking temperature and as it sits in the oven, it slowly reduces down into a very rich stock. Sometimes I do a combo; 2 hours on the stove, 2 in the oven.
When the stock is done to your preference, depending on cooking method, it’s time to strain it. I take the big pieces out with tongs (this reduces splashing later) and pour the stock through a fine mesh sieve.
Yield: 12 cups extra rich chicken stock
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for posting! I’ve been meaning to make my own stock for some time….but never have. Now I will!
Quick question-not sure if I missed this above, but how long does it keep? Do you store in the fridge or freezer?
Cassie- You can store it in the refrigerator for about a week or freeze it for a few months.
Could your timing be any better? Passover is just around the corner and I have to make matzah ball soup. Thank you!
I love making stock! There is something so fulfilling about it, and of course the taste is unbeatable!
No matter how many times I read a post on making stock, it always gives me that warm fuzzy feeling. There is absolutely NOTHING like homemade stock. Easy or not, it’s worth any effort you put in.
I love from scratch recipes which is why I’m not sure why I haven’t tried making my own chicken stock. Thanks for the step by step instructions. I have a frozen turkey carcus that has been in my freezer for two years….my plan was to make stock out of it, but I never got around to it. I wonder if it’s too late?
Mandy- Two years is a long time, even for the freezer. I think it depends on how carefully it was wrapped. It might be ok, but I would check it for freezer-burn. It might not be bad for you, but it’s possible it would not taste good.
This could not have been a better post right now. My co-worker and I were talking about her vegetable patch on her farm, her brand new canning equipment, and the animals she’s planning on adding soon. Your site was the first I told her to go to along with the USDA, which I think has good info on canning safety.
That makes TWO people I know who are highly sustainable in their eating. A third is planning on using his 45 acres to raise heirloom cattle. They’ve all said that once their crops have extras past what their families eat they’d start selling. Guess who’s first in line with their numbers???
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Thanks! Lucky you to have access to all that produce and sustainably raised meat. We have a friend who is going to start raising a few chickens. I’ve offered to help in exchange for eggs. Can’t wait!
Finally having the brined/roasted chicken tomorrow for dinner, and I’m so happy you posted this. I’ll definitely make the stock soon after!
The chicken is brining away right now! You said in that recipe that you kept all the juices for the stock, but this recipe doesn’t mention adding that. I’m guessing you just throw the leftover juices in the pot with the rest of it? Love your how-to’s…keep them coming! : )
Hi Sarah-Did I say that? I don’t keep the juices for the stock, but I certainly keep all of the carcass/bones. For sure, don’t throw the brine in there if that’s what you’re talking about, but I suppose you could put some of the pan juices after roasting in the stock (though it might be a littly fatty).
Thanks for such a quick reply! Yeah, re-reading the article, I think my brain added that part in itself. : ) Do you ever keep the pan juices for anything? To be honest, I’ve never made gravy…is that what it’s used for? Thanks for the step-by-step on tomato peeling and making sauce…looking forward to that one. : )
Yes, you can use the pan drippings to make gravy, my mother always does! However, she’s the expert on that, not me, so I don’t have a recipe for that here yet. Enjoy the tomatoes..
A word of thanks. I stumbled across this page several months ago and have become completely addicted to making stock using your roasting method. During this winter I have conjured up a batch every few weeks and use it to make a chicken and tortellini soup. A couple times I have had friends over and whenever I give them a preview taste of the broth, they literally say it’s the best they’ve ever had. Thanks again.
Thank you so much for letting me know! So glad you enjoy cooking with it.
An interesting way, you must try!
Nice simply summary. I hope to do the chicken roasting and then this. I’d likely use the stock in a bean soup.
Can you do anything with the vegetables from the stock making? Are they just totally boiled to death and only worth throwing out?
Stefan- The vegetables in the stock tend to be pretty boiled to death (as you said) and fairly flavorless. They are also, very very soft and you might have a hard time separating them from all the small bones of the chicken.
Help. I am right now brining but I used a recipe that called for Buttermilk. I think the last time I used buttermilk, the meal was sour. I wish I would have found your site first. What purpose does the sugar give to the equation?
A chicken brine with buttermilk? Interesting. I’ve heard of yogurt marinades, but not buttermilk brine. I think the sugar helps offset the salt in terms of taste, and a small amount of it will cling to the skin and aid in the browning of the chicken during cooking.
Hi there….
Am from the UK and am just making chicken stock and come across your link.
Quick question….. am making a massive pot full of chicken stock and was wondering about the concentration of it? Other people mention about putting it in cube trays and freezing it then when needed, using a cube with boiling water in order to use for receipes. My thoughts are wouldn’t you use all of it in a receipe fully concentrated rather than a cube and water?
Hope to hear from you soon
Natalie
Natalie- I’m not sure. I always use it full strength in soups and such and then add water as needed. Maybe they are talking about reducing it down to a demi-glace or something like that, very highly concentrated. I never bother with that. I just freeze it in quart sized containers.
Mom always put a pint to a quart of chix broth under a chix or turkey roasting…always moist
The other day I roasted 2 big chix with pint of chix broth and 16oz of beer
Slow roast 4 hours at 250 then up to 375 til 160…..WOW was super
Made half gal gravy with dripping from roaster pan….never better!!!
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