Although shop bought stock can be a useful kitchen cupboard standby, and today’s supermarkets do now offer healthier options, it is still worthwhile knowing how to make chicken stock at home.
Personally, most of the time I do use ready made stock, but for those occasions when I am inclined to make my own stock, this is how I do it.
Chicken stock is included in many soup maker recipes as well as other recipes including those for the slow cooker, it is probably used as much as vegetable stock. You can use water in your recipes if you prefer, but I like to use flavoursome and nutritious stock when I can.
How To Make Chicken Stock At Home
- Place either a whole chicken carcass, raw chicken bones, or the scraps and bones from a cooked chicken in a large saucepan or stockpot.
- Add some fresh herbs and aromatic vegetables, for example, onions, garlic, leek, parsley, thyme, bay leaf.
- Cover with water and bring to the boil then leave to simmer for around 3 hours.
- From time to time you will need to skim the top of the stock with a slotted spoon to take off any foam that has rested on the surface.
- Use a sieve to strain the stock into a bowl and then leave to cool.
- Once the stock has completely cooled transfer it into suitable storage containers. You can keep chicken stock in a fridge for 3 to 4 days or in a freezer for 6 to 12 months. If you are freezing the stock make sure you divide it up into smaller portions so that you only need to defrost the amount of chicken stock that you need for your soup recipe. Either 500ml or 1L portions are a good starting point. To save on room in the freezer you can pour the stock into zip-lock freezer bags.
What Are The Benefits Of Homemade Chicken Stock?
- You can choose exactly what to put in it, no hidden extras that your body doesn’t agree with. If you suffer with health issues such as high blood pressure you can omit or significantly reduce your salt intake.
- You can use up parts of a chicken that would perhaps otherwise be thrown away – less wastage!
- Homemade chicken stock often tastes much nicer than shop bought stock – much more flavour as well as fresher.
- Making your own chicken stock is usually cheaper than buying it already made.
- You can make chicken stock in bulk and freeze it in handy portions ready for defrosting on the days you are going to be making soup or even another recipes that calls for chicken stock.