How to Make Chicken Stock

Did you know you can make your own chicken stock?

Making your own chicken stock is a lot easier than you may think, and it’s quite a bit healthier than store-bought stock! Not all store-bought stocks are created equally. Some include colorings and additional additives for flavoring.

MOMables provides you with all kinds of tips such as how to make chicken stock so your life can be just a bit easier and much healthier! Join us to get a weekly meal plan with step-by-step instructions for your kid’s lunches for every day of the week!

You don’t need tons of chicken bones hoarded away in your freezer to make your own stock. The bones from one chicken will do just fine!

With just a bit of planning (MOMables can help here), you can roast a chicken for dinner one night and use the bones and leftovers for your homemade stock!

FIRST METHOD: Stove-top chicken stock

What you will need:

• Bones and carcass from one roasted chicken
• 2 onions
• 3-4 ribs celery
• 1-2 carrots
• 2 bay leaves
• 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 6-8 parsley stems
• Optional Extras: whole garlic cloves, fennel fronds, leek tops, whole peppercorns

1. Break apart or cut the chicken carcass up into a few pieces that will fit evenly into the pot.

2. Cover the chicken bones with an inch of water. Simmer on low heat for 2 to 6 hours. Add additional water if the bones break the surface of the water.

3. Peel and roughly chop all of your veggies. You can use more or less of each vegetable; this is just a general guideline to go by—use what you have!

4. Skim off any foam or film that has floated to the top of the stock for a cleaner look and taste.

5. Add the vegetables and herbs. Add additional water if necessary to cover. Simmer for another hour or two at the same heat.

6. Strain the stock to separate out the solid pieces. Discard the solids. Remove and discard the bay leaves. (If you’d like a clearer broth, strain it again through cheesecloth.)

7. Let the stock cool, then separate it into portion-size containers. Refrigerate stock for up to a week, or freeze it indefinitely.

SECOND METHOD: Crockpot Chicken Stock

What you will need: 

• Leftover chicken bones or carcass roughly equivalent to one small or medium-size chicken
• 1 onion, peeled and loosely chopped
• 1 rib celery, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped (no need to peel)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig fresh parsley
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• Salt

1. After removing all the edible meat from the chicken, put/leave the bones, skin, cooking juices, etc., in the crockpot.

2. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and spices on top of the bones, and fill the crockpot almost to the top with tap water (leaving about ½ inch at the top).

3. Turn your crockpot on “low.” You can either start it cooking right after dinner and let it go all night, or you can cook it for 8 to 10 hours during the day.

4. After the stock is done cooking, pass it through a fine sieve to remove the herbs and bones that remain.

5. Either refrigerate or freeze the stock for future use. I like to freeze my stock in different portion sizes. You can use muffin tins to freeze smaller portions or even freeze it in ziplock bags for your larger recipes.

See—now wasn’t that easy? What are some things that you would like to know how to do that you didn’t before? Comment below and let us know!