This is the only chicken stock recipe youll ever need.
Its an excellent all-rounder thats nice and clear, with the ideal balance of flavour, nutrients and richness.
Use it for everything from clear soups to rich stews, gravies and creamy sauces.
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Chicken stock recipe
Stocks are the foundation for countless dishes in many cuisines.
Just one taste is all you gotta know this!
Store-bought stock lacks this quality.
More versatile because its unsalted Store-bought stock is almost always salted.
), chicken stock is much less maintenance.
Just plonk everything in a pot and let it simmer for 3 hours, and strain!
Bones for chicken stock
I use chicken bones to make chicken stock.
I find that it makes a great all-rounder, clear stock with good flavour at store-bought strength.
Theyre readily available here in Sydney from butchers and even grocery stores.
Some recipes will opt to use chicken pieces with meat and skin to make stock.
I share my thoughts on this below!
(Spoiler: I dont agree!)
This is a little too fatty for many purposes, such as making nice clearchicken noodle soups.
Wing tips Wing tips are packed with gelatin and flavour, being a dark meat.
If youve got some, throw them in!
But to make a whole batch of chicken stock, youd need a LOT of wing tips.
I think if you made a whole batch of stock using just feet it would be far too gelatinous!
Otherwise, its just a bit bland!
They are provided with the intention to make gravies and sauces.
If you have some, by all means throw them in with the bones!
Frame of cooked whole chicken The carcass of aroast chickenwill not provide enough flavour for homemade chicken stock.
Ive tried multiple times over the years!
You just cant get nearly enough flavour out of it for the amount of water required to cover it.
Onion, celery and carrot Again, familiar building-block ingredients in most stocks and many Western dishes.
The root vegetables add subtle sweetness as well as a freshness and complexity to the stock.
Cider vinegar A little vinegar helps extract nutrients from the bone.
A brown chicken stock has a deep, complex, roasted flavour as well as a darker colour.
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Awhitechicken stock on the other hand simmers raw bones.
Just dump everything in a pot, add water and simmer!
3 litres / 3 quarts of water should just about cover everything.
Try not to break or crush the bones else this will make the stock murkier.
We want everything submerged so the water gets infused with flavour.
Dont worry if some of the bones are poking above the water surface.
The carcasses will collapse once it starts cooking and end up under the water.
Scoop off scum Bring the pot to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat.
Scoop it off and discard to keep your stock nice and clear.
Then leave to simmer for 3 hours with the lid off.
After simmering The photo above shows the water level after 3 hours.
It has reduced by around 1/3.
Your chicken stock is done!
Now we just need to strain it, remove excess fat (if you want) and store it!
I use a pot in case I need to reduce it to the right amount (see below)..
If you have less, than this just top up with water.
However, I do pick off excess meat forDozer!
But after that, I just discard the remnants.
Voila!Admire your beautiful and clear chicken stock!
Solidified fat As the stock cools, the fat will rise to the surface.
You will also notice that the chicken stock firms up into a jelly-like consistency when cold.
This is due to the gelatin.
So basically, jelly consistency = good stock!
Scrape off fat Scrape the fat off the surface using a spoon and discard.
This is actually an optional step.
For a jus or reduction sauces you should also use de-greased stock.
Storing Homemade stock will keep for 5 days in the fridge or for 6 months in the freezer.
Fridge-cold chicken stock can be used as is, in its jelly-like state.
It melts back into liquid form very quickly as soon as its heated.
Though if Im adding the stock into an already-simmering liquid sometimes Ill just add the frozen stock block as-is!
It melts fairly fast and the result is the same.
I use all of these methods depending on how much time I have!
Heres a jar of refrigerated chicken stock which has had the fat scraped off the surface.
And here it is in liquid form at room temperature.
It will elevate any dish from great homemade food to top-notch, restaurant-quality in taste, believe me!
Homemade stock particularly makes a difference in dishes where the quality and flavour of the stock can shine.
Stews and braises Homemade stock raises any stew to restaurant-quality levels!
Chicken is an obvious choice: SayChicken Pot Pie,Chicken TetrazziniorChicken Stewwith chicken stock.
But chicken stock can equally carry other meats in a braise Fish Chowder Soupor evenBeef Bourguignon.
And I actually deliberately use chicken stock over beef stock forIrish Guinness Stew, for better flavour.
On Wednesday, Im going to be sharing a recipe that really benefits from homemade chicken stock.
Its great made with store bought, but when made with homemade, it takes it to company-worthy!
