How to Make Chicken Stock

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Categories: Food | Food & Drink | Soup | How Tos

  • Chicken soup is good for the soul, and nothing beats chicken soup made with homemade chicken stock. How to make chicken stock will teach you two ways to make awesome chicken stock that's perfect for any recipe.

  • Introduction

    • Chicken stock is a flavored liquid made from simmering chicken and vegetables in water. It is the basis for many dishes, such as soups or sauces. There's nothing like the taste of homemade chicken stock in all your favorite recipes. This guide will focus on the two basic ways to make homemade chicken stock: white stock and brown stock.

  • White Stock

    • White chicken stock is traditionally made using raw bones and raw vegetables. Made entirely on the stove, white chicken stock is the easiest to make, but is less flavorful than brown stock.

  • Ingredients

      • 4 pounds leftover chicken bones (alternative: 1 whole chicken)
      • 3 carrots, quartered
      • 3 celery ribs, quartered
      • 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
      • 10 peppercorns, whole
      • 1 head of garlic, halved
      • 5 sprigs of fresh parsley (alternative: 1 teaspoon of dried parsley)
      • 5 sprigs fresh thyme (alternative: 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
      • Water

  • Equipment

      • Knife
      • Cutting board
      • Large stockpot (any large pot will work)
      • Strainer
      • Wooden or plastic spoon
      • Large bowl
      • Plastic wrap

  • Step 1: Prep

    1. Rinse carrots and celery.
    2. Chop carrots, onions, celery and garlic on cutting board.
      • Quarter the onions, celery and carrots.
      • Halve garlic head.
        • If you don't like the taste of garlic, feel free to omit garlic from recipe or use fewer cloves. Just drop whole, peeled cloves into the pot.

  • Step 2: Simmer

    1. Place chicken bones in stockpot.
      • If you decide to use a whole chicken, you can add it to the pot whole, or quarter it. You can also substitute chicken bones with any part of the chicken you prefer.
        • According to Simply Recipes, chicken feet make a really flavorful stock. If that doesn't gross you out, go for it.
    2. Add chopped vegetables.
    3. Add parsley, thyme and peppercorns to stockpot.
      • You can substitute any combination of herbs you like. Rosemary and sage (sage is a very strong flavor!) also work well.
    4. Fill stockpot with 12 cups of cold water.
    5. Bring to a boil.
      • Heat should be high.
    6. Once chicken stock comes to a boil, immediately reduce temperature to a simmer.
    7. Simmer for three hours.
      • After three hours taste the chicken stock. If you think the stock needs more flavor, continue to simmer. This allows the flavors to concentrate.


  • Step 3: Strain

    1. Strain stock into a large bowl using a fine-mesh strainer.
    2. Discard solids.
      • If you used chicken meat, the chicken can be reserved and used in other recipes.

  • Step 4: Cool and Skim

    1. To cool down the stock, place the bowl of strained stock into a sink full of ice water. Alton Brown suggests cooling to below 40 degrees.
    2. Cover with plastic wrap.
    3. Place stock in refrigerator.
    4. Take a large spoon and scoop off congealed fat.
      1. Simply store the chicken stock without skimming the fat.
      2. When ready to use, lift up the fat layer and spoon out the amount of stock needed.
      3. Replace fat when done.
      4. Refrigerate.

  • Brown Stock

  • Ingredients

      • 2 tablespoons olive oil
      • 4 pounds chicken legs, thighs and wings
      • 3 carrots, quartered
      • 3 celery ribs, quartered
      • 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
      • 10 peppercorns, whole
      • 1 head of garlic, halved
      • 5 sprigs of Fresh parsley (alternative: 1 teaspoon of dried parsley)
      • 5 sprigs Fresh thyme (alternative: 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
      • 1 lemon, halved
      • Water

  • Equipment

      • Knife
      • Cutting board
      • Roasting pan
      • Large stockpot (any large pot will work)
      • Strainer
      • Wooden or plastic spoon
      • Large bowl
      • Plastic wrap

  • Step 1: Roast

    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
    2. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil in roasting pan.
    3. Chop carrots, onions, celery, lemon and garlic on cutting board.
      • Quarter the onions, celery and carrots.
      • Halve lemon and garlic.
    4. Place chopped ingredients in single layer in roasting pan.
    5. Place chicken pieces in single layer over veggies in roasting pan.
    6. Drizzle remaining oil over chicken.
    7. Place roasting pan in the oven.
    8. Remove roasting pan from oven.

  • Step 2: Simmer

    1. Pour contents of roasting pan into stockpot.
      • Chicken should be brown and vegetables will be extremely soft.
    2. Add two cups of water to the roasting pan.
    3. Using your wooden spoon, scrape brown bits from the bottom (this is called deglazing the pan).
    4. Pour contents of roasting pan into stockpot.
      • Deglazing adds wonderful flavor; so don't skip this step!
    5. Add parsley, thyme and peppercorns to stockpot.
    6. Fill stockpot with 10 cups of water.
    7. Bring to a boil.
    8. Once chicken stock comes to a boil, immediately reduce temperature to a simmer.
    9. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
    10. After 1 1/2 hours taste the chicken stock. If you think the stock needs more flavor, continue to simmer. This allows the flavors to concentrate.
      • Concentrating reduces the liquid so the longer you simmer, the less stock you will have.
      • Reducing your stock will also make it easier to store.


  • Step 3: Strain

    1. Strain stock into a large bowl using a fine-mesh strainer.
    2. Discard veggies and herbs.

  • Step 4: Cool and Skim

    1. To cool down the stock, place bowl of strained stock into a sink full of ice water. Remember, Alton Brown suggests cooling to below 40 degrees.
    2. Cover with plastic wrap.
    3. Place stock in refrigerator.
    4. Take a large spoon and scoop off congealed fat.

  • Storing Stock

    • Stock can be chilled up to a week and frozen up to three months. Stock can be stored in a variety of ways but here is the traditional way:
    1. Pour cooled, 1 cup batches of stock into plastic containers with tightly fitting lids.
    2. Place into the fridge or freezer.
    3. Before using, boil for two minutes.
    4. Enjoy!

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