health and wellness

“Homemade” rich chicken stock is the foundation to any stew, gravy, sauce or soup. It is irreplaceable to any store bought chicken stock,  and the flavor of your dish will take on a distinction “second to none.”  The key is to always have a healthy supply of rich stock in your freezer by making large quantities at a time, and then freezing the rich chicken stock in individual containers to use accordingly for your everyday cooking needs. I suggest buying a 16qt. or 20qt. tall stock pot for this purpose so that you really only need to make this recipe when your supply is once low again.

Before We Begin 

Before you begin this endeavor it is important to reserve enough chicken bones, and chicken parts to start your stock. Some great tips are to freeze the carcass of your store bought chicken rotisserie and any remains of meat and skin left on the carcass that you normally would have thrown out after dinner. Also to add to your stock, are the bony chicken parts such as the feet, backs, neck, and wing tips.  You can even include a fresh whole chicken as part of your stock in the event you do not have enough chicken parts on reserve. As an important tip to consider; if you are going to make home made chicken soup from your chicken stock, you will want this whole chicken to simmer or poach so that once done, you can  remove the meat from the carcass and reserve the torn pieces of chicken meat to add to your chicken soup once your chicken stock is done. (Be sure to return the carcass after removing the chicken meat to continue to provide a more rich and flavorful broth.)

Once you have a good supply of browned and fresh chicken parts reserved in your freezer you can begin to make something to be proud of! “Homemade” rich chicken stock.

The last thing to remember is that a good variety of fresh vegetables will be needed, and this can vary depending upon what you have on hand, but the good news is that almost anything in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator will do. I do recommend that you stay away from the more stronger odored vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc as this will be too overbearing in flavor to your chicken stock. Additionally, it is wise to avoid using the liver of the chicken as this too is also overbearing in odor and flavor, and will do nothing but cloud or muddy your stock.

Once we have the ingredients, we will then take a look at the making of the stock. Believe me, this is not only fun but well worth the effort. So let’s get started:

Ingredients Used

• 4 to 6 pounds of assorted bony chicken parts with skin left on, like necks, backs, feet, and other bones, as well as the carcass from a leftover rotisserie chicken. (And, 1 whole fresh chicken with neck and gizzard, excluding the liver, if you are making home made chicken soup from your chicken stock, or if you just need to add extra bony parts to your stock) 
• 3 or 4 large yellow onions, coarsely chopped
• 6 large carrots cut up
• 4 stalks of celery cut up, including the leaves
• 1 or 2 parsnips or turnips (optional)
• 2 large leeks cleaned and cut up
• A few parsley sprigs
• 8 cloves of garlic
• dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• cold water to cover

Note that I do not add salt or pepper to the stock until I am sure what I want to use the stock for. I prefer to add salt, pepper or other seasonings to the recipes in which I am cooking the broth with. This way it doesn’t get conflicting flavors or double the salt etc. Therefore, keeping your stock neutral in seasonings will give you an overall better use for your chicken stock knowing that you can always add it later.

Cooking Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and on a large cookie sheet, place chicken parts along with 2 or 3 yellow, chopped onions and roast about 35 to 40 minutes until chicken parts are golden. Remove from oven and scrape into the large stock pot the chicken parts including any browned bits or liquid from the pan. Sometimes hot water will help to release the browned juices and that can also be added to the stock pot.

Add the remaining ingredients to the stock pot and add the fresh whole chicken (optional) and cover all ingredients well with fresh cold water. Bring just to an initial boil, and then immediately reduce to a gentle simmer and cover with lid ajar several hours while skimming off any scum that surfaces to the top. Never stir the mixture of the stock or allow to reach a boiling point as this will greatly cloud your stock, giving you a muddy outcome to the broth. Carefully remove the whole chicken at this point and allow to cool in order to remove the meat from the carcass. Set aside the meat for home made chicken soup or any other dishes that you wish to use the poached chicken meat for. Be sure to return the carcass to the stock pot once the meat has been removed. Continue to simmer for another 3  hours with the lid ajar in order to extract all the goodness from the chicken parts and vegetables.

Lastly, remove from heat and let cool enough to strain out all the solids which I use a strainer and sieve in order to achieve this. The solids can then be discarded leaving you with rich home made chicken broth. Before cooking with it,  it is wise to cover tightly and let sit over night in the refrigerator in order for the fat to rise to the top. Once you remove the thin layer of fat, it will be healthier to cook with and at this point you can use what is needed and the rest should be frozen in individual containers and stored securely in the freezer to use as needed.