Homemade Chicken Stock
Transform your kitchen scraps into liquid gold with this easy homemade chicken stock! By simmering leftover chicken bones with aromatic vegetables like carrots and celery, you’ll create a rich, flavorful base perfect for soups, stews, or risottos. Embrace the warmth of home-cooked goodness and let your culinary creativity shine!
Prep
15
min
Cook
240
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(3)
- carrots, celery, onion (leeks & mushrooms works too)leeks & mushrooms can be used as alternatives
- garlic
- water to cover the bones
🥩Meat & Seafood(1)
- chicken bones/carcass
🧂Spices & Seasonings(2)
- bay leaf
- thyme
📦Other(1)
- peppercorns
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Add everything to a pot and bring to a light simmer (to purify you can skim off the scum from the top).
- 2
Leave from anywhere 3-12 hours - I like to leave it at 150 degrees C for 4 hours, you can simmer on low on your hob or use a slow cooker for 4-6 hours.
- 3
Strain all of the bits off through a sieve and/or cheese cloth.
- 4
Add to a jar, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for 3 months.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Keep the stock at a bare simmer (185-195°F) rather than a rolling boil, because vigorous boiling emulsifies rendered fat into the liquid, creating a cloudy, greasy stock instead of a clear one.technique185-195°F
- ✓Skim the gray protein scum that rises in the first 20-30 minutes of simmering, since these are coagulated albumin proteins that cause cloudiness if left to break apart and disperse.techniquefirst 20-30 minutes
- ✓Simmer for a minimum of 4 hours to properly break down collagen in bones and connective tissue into gelatin, which is what gives cooled stock its signature jiggly body.timing4-12 hours
- ✓Start with cold water covering the bones by about 1-2 inches rather than hot water, so proteins leach out slowly during the gradual temperature rise instead of seizing and trapping impurities inside.technique1-2 inches above bones
- ✓Cool the strained stock rapidly by placing the pot in an ice bath before refrigerating, since bacteria multiply fastest between 40-140°F and slow cooling through this zone risks spoilage.timing40-140°F danger zone
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
240
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
Homemade Chicken Stock
Transform your kitchen scraps into liquid gold with this easy homemade chicken stock! By simmering leftover chicken bones with aromatic vegetables like carrots and celery, you’ll create a rich, flavorful base perfect for soups, stews, or risottos. Embrace the warmth of home-cooked goodness and let your culinary creativity shine!
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(3)
- carrots, celery, onion (leeks & mushrooms works too)leeks & mushrooms can be used as alternatives
- garlic
- water to cover the bones
🥩Meat & Seafood(1)
- chicken bones/carcass
🧂Spices & Seasonings(2)
- bay leaf
- thyme
📦Other(1)
- peppercorns
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Add everything to a pot and bring to a light simmer (to purify you can skim off the scum from the top).
- 2
Leave from anywhere 3-12 hours - I like to leave it at 150 degrees C for 4 hours, you can simmer on low on your hob or use a slow cooker for 4-6 hours.
- 3
Strain all of the bits off through a sieve and/or cheese cloth.
- 4
Add to a jar, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for 3 months.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Keep the stock at a bare simmer (185-195°F) rather than a rolling boil, because vigorous boiling emulsifies rendered fat into the liquid, creating a cloudy, greasy stock instead of a clear one.technique185-195°F
- ✓Skim the gray protein scum that rises in the first 20-30 minutes of simmering, since these are coagulated albumin proteins that cause cloudiness if left to break apart and disperse.techniquefirst 20-30 minutes
- ✓Simmer for a minimum of 4 hours to properly break down collagen in bones and connective tissue into gelatin, which is what gives cooled stock its signature jiggly body.timing4-12 hours
- ✓Start with cold water covering the bones by about 1-2 inches rather than hot water, so proteins leach out slowly during the gradual temperature rise instead of seizing and trapping impurities inside.technique1-2 inches above bones
- ✓Cool the strained stock rapidly by placing the pot in an ice bath before refrigerating, since bacteria multiply fastest between 40-140°F and slow cooling through this zone risks spoilage.timing40-140°F danger zone