Spices and Marinades

Chicken Stock

Chicken Stock Recipe

how to make rich and flavourful chicken stock. Five minutes of upfront work, then leave it to simmer away. A staple recipe for the best soups, sauces and stews.

Whenever we roast a chicken, the leftover bones are used to make stock.

If we haven’t got time to boil up the broth right then, the chicken carcass goes in the freezer, and is boiled up at the next opportunity.

With just the tiniest amount of effort, it means we’ve also got a soup or sauce base right there in the freezer

Stock cubes are great, but they’re a flavour helper. Homemade stock on the other hand? You just can’t get that perfect homemade taste from a packet or jar. We’re here for the real thing!

Prep Time: 00:10
Cook Time: 05:00
Total Time: 05:10
Servings: 1 pint
Course: Stocks and Broths
Cuisine: British

Ingredients:

  • 1 leftover chicken carcass
  • 1 large carrot broked in half (no need to peel)
  • 1 stick celery roughly broken
  • 1 onion sliced in half (no need to peel)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • you can also add in any leftover drippings from the roasting pan if you have them optional

Method:

  1. Place the chicken carcass, carrot, celery, and onion in a large pan and cover with cold water.   

    1 leftover chicken carcass, 1 large carrot, 1 stick celery, 1 onion

  2.     Add in the salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
        1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
  3.     Turn down the heat and simmer for 4-5 hours until reduced by three-quarters.
        you can also add in any leftover drippings from the roasting pan if you have them
  4.     Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then place a fine sieve over a jug. Pour the contents of the pan into the sieve, squeezing any juices out with the back of a spoon.
  5.     Pour the stock into clean jars, place a lid on a refrigerated (will keep for 3-4 days)
  6.     Or cool completely and transfer to a freezer bag or freezer safe tub with a lid and freeze.

 

Refrigerating homemade stock:

Cool the stock and place into a clean container (such as a mason jar). Place a lid on top and refrigerate. It will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Freezing homemade stock:

Cool the stock and transfer to a clean contain (remember, liquid will expand when frozen, so use a plastic container, not a glass one) and place a lid on. Or transfer to a freezer bag and seal. They should keep in the freezer for 6 months.
Defrost overnight in the refrigerator (if you froze it in a bag, then place the bag in a jug in the refrigerator to defrost).

Top tips for making homemade stock:

  1. Pull as much meat off the carcass as you can before you boil it. The flavour of the stock mostly comes from the bones, and all of the solids will be discarded, so any meat left on will end up being thrown away. Instead save the shredded meat. It’s great for adding to chicken soup (that you can make with your broth), salads, ristotto or fried rice.
  2. Make the stock go further. If I’m short on stock, I’ll add a crumbled stock cube and a cup (240ml) of water to my stock. This helps to stretch it out, but you still get that homemade flavour.
  3. Don’t have time to boil up the carcass right away? Place in a clean bag or wrap the carcass tightly in parchment and then foil (after removing the scraps of meat and storing them separately) and freeze. You can add the frozen carcass to the pan with the water and vegetables when you do have time to make make the stock.
  4. More than one carcass? Use a bigger pan and double or triple the recipe! If you have a chicken carcass ready to boil, and another one in the freezer, you can boil them up together (no need to thaw the frozen carcass).
  5. Want to use bones leftover from other meat (such as lamb or beef)? – make the stock in the same way. Lamb and beef have distinctive tastes, so be sure to label up the stock so you’re using the beef stock for beef dishes/gravies and the lamb for lamb dishes/gravies. Alternatively you can boil up multiple bones together for my three bone soup (using chicken, lamb and beef) -it’s delicious!!
  6. If you have fat on top of your chicken stock (even more likely if you’ve added any meat drippings from the roasting pan into your stock pot), then personally I would leave it there. The fat adds more flavour to the stock. However you can skim it off if you prefer. This is easier when the stock is cooked and sieved. If you refrigerate the stock, the fat will from a solid layer on top that can be scraped off.

 

Why is my chicken stock cloudy?

This recipe is a simple method for making chicken stock, and it will result in cloudy chicken stock, which is absolutely fine! It tastes delicious and is nutritious and flavourful. The stock is cloudy due to:

  • The emulsification on fat in the water from the carcass – because we boil and simmer the stock
  • We don’t skim the stock as it’s cooking (this is an easy hands-off stock)
  • The added extras in the stock in addition to the carcass and water (i.e veggies and seasoning)
  • The straining method – we’re only straining it over a sieve, not through a cheesecloth.

Sometimes people want a clear non-cloudy stock (for example for pho). There are methods for achieve this (such as blanching the bones, skimming the stock, not letting it boil etc (there’s a good article on Better Homes and Gardens for this).

Why is my refrigerated stock like jelly?

When it turns to jelly (jello) upon refrigerating, it means you have the best type of stock! The jelly is formed by the breakdown of collagen in the bones when you’re simmering the stock. It takes a good few hours (at least 4-5) for collagen to start to break down, but that’s where lots of the flavour comes from. You can add the jellified stock directly to the pan when you come to use it (as you would liquid stock), as it will turn back to liquid again within a few minutes of heating.

 

3 jars of chicken stock on a wooden board with vegetables around

 

 

What’s the difference between chicken stock and bone broth?

They both start with the same process (adding the bones and vegetables), but bone broth is often simmered at a lower heat (barely any bubbling – you should see a bubble once every two or three minutes) for longer – anything from 12-48 hours. This releases more collagen and helps to break down the cartilage between the bones, so even more collagen can be released.
This results in a richer, thicker broth, which is delicious by itself as a warm drink, or can be used in place of stock

How to use it for soup

Add to these soups for the best tasting result:

 

 
Source: https://www.kitchensanctuary.com/chicken-stock-recipe/

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