Homemade Chicken Stock

This homemade chicken stock is lightly seasoned and so versatile and indispensable to the any person who likes to cook from scratch.

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Keyword: Chicken, Homemade, Stock

Calories: 227kcal

Author: S Jones

Equipment

Stock Pot or Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
fine-meshed sieve

Ingredients

8 Pound (3.6kg) Whole Chicken, Cleaned of Useable Cuts of Meat
1 Gallon (3.8L) Cold Filtered Water, enough to fill up the stock pot / Instant Pot
2 White Onions
2 Carrots
5 cloves, garlic, smashed
2 ribs Celery
2 TBSP Whole Black Peppercorns
2 Bay Leaves
2 sprigs Fresh Thyme

Instructions

Chicken Stock ~ Stovetop Method

Start by rinsing the chicken bones. If you do not have access to a whole chicken carcass, most supermarkets sell fresh chicken necks, which are an excellent substitute. Pat the chicken dry and chop into 3-6 inch pieces using a heavy chef knife. Place the bones in the stock pot.
Rinse and chop the vegetables into uniform pieces, about a 1-inch dice. It is not necessary to remove the skin from the onions or the carrots. However, it will not affect the quality of the finished stock if you do.
Add the chopped vegetables to the stock pot.
Add the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. Add the apple cider vinegar.
Add the cold water to fill up the pot. Cold water is important because it helps regulate the temperature of the stock, allowing the liquid to slowly rise to a simmer. Depending on the size of your pot, you may need to halve the recipe.
Place a lid on the pot and bring to the boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer. Simmer for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. The longer the simmer, the better the flavour will be.
When ready, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary and cook for a further 30 minutes if adjusted.
Strain the stock using a ladle and a fine-meshed sieve. Let it sit for around 10-15 minutes to make sure all the liquid comes out. It is important not to pour the stock through a colander as this will cloud the stock. The stock is now ready to use, or it can be cooled and stored.

Chicken Stock ~ Instant Pot Method

Start by rinsing the chicken bones. If you do not have access to a whole chicken carcass, most supermarkets sell fresh chicken necks, which are an excellent substitute. Pat the chicken dry and chop into 3-6 inch pieces using a heavy chef knife. Place the bones in the internal pot of the Instant Pot.
Rinse and chop the vegetables into uniform pieces, about a 1-inch dice. It is not necessary to remove the skin from the onions or the carrots. However, it will not affect the quality of the finished stock if you do. Add the chopped vegetables to the Instant Pot.
Add the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. Add the apple cider vinegar.
Add the cold water only up until the recommended fill line. Cold water is important because it helps regulate the temperature of the stock, allowing the liquid to slowly rise to a simmer. Depending on the size of your Instant Pot, you may need to halve the recipe.
Close the lid on the Instant Pot until it is latched. Close the valve to 'seal.' Set to cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. When finished, let it release naturally for 10-15 minutes then do a quick release.
Strain the stock using a ladle and a fine-meshed sieve. Let it sit for around 10-15 minutes to make sure all the liquid comes out. It is important not to pour the stock through a colander as this will cloud the stock. The stock is now ready to use, or it can be cooled and stored.

Chicken Stock ~ Slow Cooker Method

Start by rinsing the chicken bones. If you do not have access to a whole chicken carcass, most supermarkets sell fresh chicken necks, which are an excellent substitute. Pat the chicken dry and chop into 3-6 inch pieces using a heavy chef knife. Place the bones in the slow cooker.
Rinse and chop the vegetables into uniform pieces, about a 1-inch dice. It is not necessary to remove the skin from the onions or the carrots. However, it will not affect the quality of the finished stock if you do. Add the chopped vegetables to the slow cooker.
Add the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. Add the apple cider vinegar.
Add the cold water to the slow cooker to cover the meat. The water can go to within an inch of the top of the slow cooker. Cold water is important because it helps regulate the temperature of the stock, allowing the liquid to slowly rise to a simmer. Depending on the size of your slow cooker, you may need to halve the recipe.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and turn on to low heat and simmer for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours.
Strain the stock using a ladle and a fine-meshed sieve. Let it sit for around 10-15 minutes to make sure all the liquid comes out. It is important not to pour the stock through a colander as this will cloud the stock. The stock is now ready to use, or it can be cooled and stored.

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Notes

No salt is added to this stock so that when you use it in different recipes, you can add the correct amount of salt then. If added to the stock, the dishes that you make using this stock could end up very salty.
When the chicken stock cools, you may have a layer of yellowish fat on top. This can be skimmed off and discarded. It will not affect your stock.
Cooled stock is thick and will jiggle like jelly. This is due to the gelatine and collagen that is taken from the bones that were used. It does liquify when using in your recipes.
When handling raw chicken, always clean and sanitise the area, knives, and your hands with an antibacterial solution before and after use to help reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

Nutrition

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided as a courtesy. The values may vary according to the ingredients and tools that are used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed information.