This Homemade Chicken Stock recipe is rich in flavor and nutrition. It beats anything you can buy in the store. Simmer a whole chicken or chicken bones with veggies and aromatics for a few hours and you have the most amazing golden stock. It will take all your recipes that call for chicken stock to the next level!
In a large stock pot over medium heat add the chicken bones, veggies, aromatics, seasonings, and then cover everything with water or chicken broth by a few inches - this will be between 8-16 cups of water.(if you are using the bouillon cubes instead of chicken base, add those now)
chicken bones or a large fryer chicken, 1 whole yellow onion, 1 head of garlic, 3 large carrots, 2 large celery ribs, 1 bunch parsley, 2 bay leaves, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black peppercorns or cracked black pepper, 2-4 quarts water or chicken broth
Bring the pot to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Skim any scum that has accumulated on the top of the stock.*Scum is a white or dirty looking foam that can occur within the first hour or two of cooking chicken.
Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours, up to 8 hours.
During the last hour of cooking stir in the chicken base, if using.
1 tablespoon chicken base
Taste the chicken stock and see if you want to add any seasoning; kosher salt, pepper or more chicken base.
Remove from the heat and let cool for 15 mintues.
Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl. Ladle or pour the stock through the strainer, removing the solids from the liquid. Discard the solids.
At this point you can use the stock right away or store it for later.
Removing The Fat
It is a good idea to remove some of the fat that extracted during the cooking.
Cooling method: for removing any fat you can pop it in the fridge.In a couple hours the fat will harden on the top and you can skim it off and discard.
Fast cooling method: Place the bowl of chicken stock over a large bowl full of ice. As it cools the fat will float to the top and start to solidify.
Fast method: Use a fat separator to remove the fat from your chicken stock.
Storing & Freezing
Store your chicken stock in the fridge for up to 5 days. I like to use large mason jars to store in the fridge.Pro Tip: don't worry if your stock turns into jelly in the fridge. That's a good thing! It means your stock is full of collagen. It will return to it's liquid state upon reheating.
To keep your stock longer, store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. Souper Cubes or gallon Ziploc baggies work great in the freezer.Pro Tip: freeze it in smaller 2-4 cup portions so that you don't have to thaw the whole batch to just use a couple cups.
Notes
Either a whole fryer chicken (raw or cooked), chicken parts, such as a carcass or leftover bones from a roasted chicken, or grilled chicken will work. Or after you have a rotisserie chicken or chicken on the bone for dinner, the leftover bones or carcass can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months and used for stock at a later time!
If you stored veggie scraps in the freezer you can use those in place of the veggies in the recipe card.
If you use chicken base stir it in during the last hour of cooking your stock, if you sub chicken bouillon that can be added in the beginning of making your stock.
Find plenty of recipes to use your chicken stock on Mom's Dinner!