Forget about buying broth at the store. Make your own homemade chicken stock, using leftover bones, vegetables, and herbs. You will have rich, flavorful, and nutritious stock that you can use in soups, risotto, stews, and many other meals.
If you used to buy chicken broth at the store, you will never do it again after trying this recipe. Homemade chicken stock tastes so much better than store-bought and is packed with nutrients. In addition, it’s super easy to make and you can use your leftover bones and vegetable scraps, so nothing goes to waste!
Chicken Stock vs Chicken Broth
You probably noticed that some recipes call for broth, while others for stock. Though they are quite interchangeable, there is a difference between these two.
Chicken broth is usually made with chicken meat and cooked for a shorter period of time. The stock is made using the bones, simmering them for a longer period of time. This technique provides greater richness to the flavor.
Chicken stock is usually made with 4 main components:
- chicken bones (can use rotisserie chicken carcass)
- vegetables or vegetable scraps
- fresh herbs
- water
After you simmer it for 2-4 hours, you will end up with a rich and flavorful stock.
What chicken shall I use?
I prefer to make this stock using a carcass from a whole roasted chicken (check out my recipe for How to Roast a Whole Chicken). It provides good flavor from the leftover meat and the richness from the bones.
If you don’t have a whole bird, you can substitute with chicken legs or wings (or any other parts with the bones), but I would highly suggest to roast them before making the stock. After it’s roasted, you can pick out the meat and set it aside for some other recipes, then use the bones for the stock.
How to make Chicken Stock
Put the chicken carcass in a large pot.
Add all the vegetables and herbs (onion, carrots, celery, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, and whole black peppercorns).
Cover everything with water (about 10-12 cups).
Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 2-4 hours.
Add some salt to taste about 30 minutes before the stock is done.
When done, remove large bones and vegetables. Then strain the rest through a fine mesh into a bowl.
Let the broth cool off, then transfer to mason jars or air-tight containers and refrigerate.
Tips for best results
- Using roasted chicken bones provides deeper flavor then if you’d use just meat.
- If you don’t have a carcass and use other parts of meat, make sure you roast or at least brown them before using in the stock for more flavor.
- Keep the onion skin on, it will add beautiful color to the stock.
- The longer you simmer on low heat, the more flavor you’ll have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! It will work great for this recipe.
This is a great recipe to use pretty much any vegetables or vegetable scraps you have on hands, like carrot peels, onion skin, parsley stems, green onions, parsnip, garlic, etc.
After the stock is done, cool it off and then transfer to a mason jar or an air-tight container You can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
If you are not planning on using the same week, you can freeze for up to 2-3 months. I like to portion it by 2 or 4 cups for easier use. Make sure you leave at least ½-inch space on top as the liquid will expand when frozen.
There are so many ways you can use this stock, like in soups, risotto, stews, and more. Here are a few of my favorite recipes to use this stock:
• Instanpot Chicken Soup
• Chicken Stew Recipe
• Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
• One Pot Chicken and Rice
• Instant Pot Turkey Chili
• Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs
• Dutch Oven Beef Stew
• Instant Pot Alfredo Penne
• Instant Pot Rice Pilaf
Homemade Chicken Stock
Ingredients
- 1 chicken carcass
- 1 large onion unpeeled, cut in quarters
- 3 large carrots unpeeled, cut in halves
- 2 celery ribs cut in halves
- 1 bunch parsley
- 5-10 springs fresh thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 5-10 whole black peppercorns
- 1-2 tablespoons salt
- 10-12 cups water
Instructions
- Put the chicken carcass in a large pot.
- Add all the vegetables and herbs (onion, carrots, celery, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, and whole black peppercorns).
- Cover everything with water (about 10-12 cups).
- Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 2-4 hours.
- Add some salt to taste about 30 minutes before the stock is done.
- When done, remove large bones and vegetables. Then strain the rest through a fine mesh into a bowl.
- Let the broth cool off, then transfer to mason jars or air-tight containers and refrigerate.
Notes
- Using roasted chicken bones provides deeper flavor then if you’d use just meat.
- If you don’t have a carcass and use other parts of meat, make sure you roast or at least brown them before using in the stock for more flavor.
- This is a great recipe to use pretty much any vegetables or vegetable scraps you have on hands, like carrot peels, onion skin, parsley stems, green onions, parsnip, garlic, etc.
- Keep the onion skin on, it will add beautiful color to the stock.
- The longer you simmer on low heat, the more flavor you’ll have.
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