Homemade chicken stock is one of the easiest, most flavoursome things you can make with a leftover roast chicken carcass. Use it as the base for all your favourite soups.
Why you should make your own homemade chicken stock
Making chicken stock from the leftovers of your Sunday roast chicken dinner not only makes the best use of something that otherwise would have gone to waste,
Homemade chicken stock is a nutritional powerhouse boasting several health-promoting properties. On top of this, it’ll take your soups, gravies, risottos and stews to the next level with a depth of flavour you don’t get from shop-bought stock pots/cubes.
What’s not to love?
What you’ll need
- 1 roasted chicken carcass – pick over your carcass, removing most of the meat, but leave some for added flavour.
- 2 carrots – just wash and coarsely chop them, don’t worry about peeling as the peel has the highest concentration of nutrients.
- 1 large onion – quarter this, but leave the skin if you want to add colour to the stock. Remove it if you want a lighter stock.
- 1 celery stick – used for its aromatic qualities and to deepen the flavour of the resulting stock.
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves – crush with the side of a knife, but leave unpeeled. These nutritional powerhouses pack loads of flavour into the stock.
- 2 bay leaves – adds a subtle aroma and enhances the other flavours in the stock.
- fresh thyme sprigs – often used as a base flavour in stocks and soups in conjunction with bay leaves and garlic.
- A few parsley stalks – packed full of flavour and nutrition.
- 10 whole peppercorns – adds warmth and texture to the stock.
- 1 capful apple cider vinegar – the acidity of the vinegar helps extract extra calcium from the bones of the chicken carcass, enriching the nutritional value of the finished stalk.
- water – enough to cover everything by 1-2 inches.
Click here for the printable recipe card.
How to make it
- Pick over your carcass, removing most of the meat, but leave some for added flavour. Break up the bones slightly and put them into a large stock pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients and enough water to cover everything by 1 or 2 inches.
- Bring to a simmer and pop the lid slightly on.
- Simmer for 3 or 4 hours, skimming any fat or scum that rises to the surface. Keep an eye on the water level, topping up with more hot water if required.
- Remove from the heat and strain in a colander. If you want a clearer stock, strain again through a few layers of cheesecloth placed in your strainer.
- Chill and/or freeze for later.
Click here for the printable recipe card.
The difference between white and brown chicken stock
The recipe in this blog post is for white chicken stock, a light, clear stock perfect for soups and white sauces. To make the stock even lighter, you could use uncooked chicken wings instead of leftover roast chicken.
Brown stock, however, is made by roasting the bones and vegetables in a hot oven for 45 minutes before adding to the stock pot.
Roasting the bones and vegetables imparts all those delicious caramel flavours to the stock, resulting in a bold and rich bone broth that can be drunk, as is, or used in a wide variety of soups and sauces. Most importantly, it makes the best chicken gravy.
See my recipe: how to make nourishing bone broth from scratch.
Recipe Difficulty Levels
Easy
Requires basic cooking skills and ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.
Moderate
Requires more experience, preparation and/or cooking time. You may have to source special ingredients.
Challenging
Recipes requiring more advanced skills and experience and maybe some special equipment.
Homemade chicken stock recipe
Ingredients
- 1 chicken carcass
- 1 carrots halved, unpeeled
- 1 large onion quartered, unpeeled
- 1 celery stalk
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- fresh parsley stalks
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 1 capful apple cider vinegar
- water to cover
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Equipment
Instructions
- You can pick over your chicken carcass, removing most of the meat, but leave some for added flavour. Break up the bones slightly and put them into a large stock pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients and add enough water to cover by 1 or 2 inches.
- Bring to a simmer, and loosely pop the lid on.
- Simmer for 3 or 4 hours, topping up with more water if needed. Remove any fat or scum that rises to the surface.
- Remove from the heat, strain through a colander, and then strain again through some layers of cheesecloth if you want a more refined stock.
- If you want more concentrated flavour, return the stock to the simmer until it reduces further.
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Pretty! This has been an extremely wonderful article.
Thank you for providing this information.
I always try too make my own stock and freeze it. Ive never added cider vinegar before so will give it a try
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