How to: Make From Scratch Chicken Stock

The only chicken stock recipe you will need! Utilising kitchen scraps, you are able to make nutritious chicken stock from scratch at home with very little effort & at minimal cost.

Use this stock for stews, soups & sauces to add a tonne of flavour to any dish.

You can store the stock either in the freezer, or you can pressure can into jars to make it shelf stable.

What is Chicken Stock & Why Make It Yourself

Chicken stock is the backbone of many dishes & used in most cuisines. It’s made by simmering chicken, vegetables, and herbs in water, allowing the flavors to meld together.

Of course, you can buy shelf stable packaged chicken stock very easily these days. But let me convince you why you should make your own from scratch:

• Save money – you can utilise kitchen scraps that you may otherwise throw out or compost as a majority of the ingredients of the stock.
• Better flavour – the flavour of a home-made chicken stock is so much fuller than that of a packaged one, as you can let it “steep” for as long as you like to really intensify the flavours.
• Minimal effort – with very little effort & hand-on time, you are able to make enough stock to last quite a while to make from scratch cooking that much easier.
• Versatility – you can add whatever vegetables or herbs you prefer. I also prefer to not add salt, so that the dishes that I use the stock in don’t become over-salted.

How to Make Chicken Stock

Making chicken stock is definitely a very simple process. Simply put, everything goes in a pot, simmers away for a good few hours, and voila, you have chicken stock!

Ingredients

• Chicken carcass – utilising a leftover chicken carcass from a recent roast chicken dinner is a great money saver when it comes to creating a chicken stock. You don’t need to buy anything extra to be able to get the nutrients and benefits of the chicken. I pull off as much meat as I can from the chicken after we have eaten our roast. We use the meat in many different ways. Then I put the carcass into a zip lock bag in the freezer for later use. You can use any type of chicken here that you prefer, but a chicken carcass or chicken frame (you can get these direct from your butcher) is the most economical choice.
• Vegetables – I again use kitchen leftovers to lower the cost of making the chicken stock. As I peel and chop carrots and onions & chop up celery, I add as much of the scraps as I can into a zip lock bag in the freezer and continue adding to it until I have a full bag. These can go straight into the pot as they are from the freezer. You can also use fresh vegetables, just chop them up a bit and add them in.
• Pepper – I prefer to use whole peppercorns as it is easier to ensure there are no bits of pepper going into the end product, which is important if you are wanting a nice smooth stock.
• Herbs – what herbs I use depends on what I have on hand. I use a mix of parsley, thyme, bay leaves and rosemary. You can use fresh or dried, whatever you have will be great.
• Salt – I don’t always use salt, as I like to add my salt to my end product that I am using the stock in. Just so dishes don’t become too salty. But if I feel like it on the day, I will add some Celtic salt, but not too much.

Method

Step 1: If using fresh vegetables, cut up all vegetables to a uniform size. These don’t have to be small as they will cook away for a good few hours.

Step 2: Place all ingredients into a large stock pot and cover with water.

Step 3: Simmer of medium low for at least 2 hours.

Step 4: Strain through a sieve into freezer-friendly containers & freeze stock for use as needed.

If you give this recipe a try, I would love to hear how it goes in the comments below.