Chicken stock is an ingredient used very often when cooking. There are many recipes that use chicken stock, such as soups, sauces, stews, risotto, etc. So, if you cook frequently this is an ingredient that you should always have at home. Of course, you can buy canned chicken stock but it will lack the natural flavor of a homemade stock and most of these products are laden with sodium. Making chicken stock at home is easy and you’ll be rewarded with a natural, more flavorful and healthier stock.
Usually I make chicken stock with chicken carcasses, scraps and trimmings. Often, when I prepare a chicken dish, I buy a whole chicken and cut it up. Or if a recipe needs boneless parts, I buy them with bones and remove the bones myself. This costs extra work but it’s cheaper. The bones, backs and wing tips I save and freeze until I have enough to make stock.
Chicken Stock Recipe
Yield: About 2 quarts
Ingredients:
4 pounds raw chicken carcasses, bones, necks
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh parsley
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
3 quarts cold water
Directions:
- Place the chicken pieces, vegetables, parsley, peppercorns and salt in a large stock pot. Pour in water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered for 3-4 hours, skimming foam from surface occasionally.
- Strain stock through a fine sieve and discard solids. Let the stock cool.
- Once the stock has cooled off, refrigerate or freeze it immediately if you’re going to use it later. When freezing, I usually divide the chicken stock into plastic containers of different sizes because recipes require different amounts, so I defrost only the quantity I need.
