Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe

Chicken stock is much easier than you may think! I’ve been making it for over 20 years and using it as a base for most soups, sauces, stews, chilis, and risottos. This recipe yields the best tasting broth and elevates all other recipes it’s used in.

Key Ingredients Tips and Substitutions

Bone-in Meat:

Using marrow bones is what makes the best stock that is rich, meat-flavored, and nutritious. (This is true in beef stock as well.) Bone marrow is the soft tissue found inside the large, hollow bones. Marrow is chock-full of nutrients like collagen, iron, calcium, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin A, and so much more.

Nutrition in bone marrow helps promote skin health, joint health, digestive health, and boosts the immune system. If you’ve ever wondered how a bowl of soup can actually make you feel better, this is how, the nutrients that infuse into the soup from meat and vegetables. (No, it will not cure your cold, but it will help relieve some symptoms and help your body fight it.)

Vegetables: Start with the basic mirepoix vegetables: onion, carrots, and celery. You don’t want to overwhelm with vegetable flavors since this is the chicken stock, where it’s the star, and not the vegetable stock. Although, don’t forget the garlic!

Herbs: Since this recipe highlights chicken, we use herbs that go very well with chicken, which are thyme, parsley, and bay leaves. All three are pretty mild but they do provide a beautiful herbaceous flavor.

What Kind of Chicken to Use for Stock

Any type of raw chicken can be used, as long as it’s bone-in. You can use anything from the whole chicken to a chicken carcass to make your stock. 

• Whole Chicken – If using a whole chicken, make sure to remove the giblets from the cavity first because those have an overwhelming, strong, and bitter flavor.
• Chicken Cuts – Use bone-in chicken thighs, chicken legs, bone-in chicken breast, and/or wings and drums. When using bone-in chicken breast halves, I highly recommend that you also add some bone-in chicken thighs for the marrow bones.
• Carcass – You can use leftover roasted chicken carcass to make stock as well. It’s a good way to utilize the carcass but it’s not my first choice for homemade stock. Since chicken bones have already been cooked, there won’t be as many nutrients or flavor available to be transferred into the stock. Although, if you have bones or carcass available from preparing either spatchcock chicken or breaking down a whole chicken, that would be ideal to use in stock.

How to Make Chicken Stock Recipe: Step by Step

Sear the chicken. Preheat a large pot over medium-high heat, add some oil, and add chicken. (You may need to sear the chicken in batches so you don’t over-crows the pot.) Sear on both sides until chicken skin is golden brown.

Bring to boil, cover and simmer. Add vegetables, herbs, peppercorns, salt, and water. Bring mixture to boil, lower heat to low, cover with a lid loosely, and cook for about 2 hours. Make sure that the simmer is very gentle, just an occasional bubble. To keep stock clear, simmer gently over low heat and skim off any foam that rises in the first hour.

Take the lid off and cook another 2 hours uncovered. Keep is on low still, so not too much liquid cooks out and the stock will stay clear.

Strain. Pour the stock through a fine strainer and let the chicken and vegetables sit in the strainer for 10-15 minutes so that all the liquid comes out.

Save the meat. Separate chicken from bones and skin and save it to be used in soup. Discard the vegetables.

What is the difference between chicken stock and chicken broth?

Chicken broth is thinner, usually has less intense and rich flavor, and most importantly, it’s made with chicken meat. Usually, a broth includes seasoning so it is ready for eating, while stock is a base to be used in other recipes.

Chicken stock is a bit thicker, more rich and deep in flavor, and it is made with chicken bones. What makes the biggest difference is using chicken bones, they add marrow into the stock, which adds more flavor and health benefits.

Storing Tips and Recommendations

Store homemade chicken stock in the refrigerator, in glass jars with lids. In the refrigerator, homemade stock will last for up to 3 days. I always recommend using the stock within a day or two or freeze it. 

Expert Shelf Life Tip: Homemade stock, no matter beef, chicken, or vegetable, does NOT have a long shelf life. So use it relatively soon or freeze it! Homemade stock should not be left of the counter for too long because bacteria will start to grow and it will lessen the shelf life. Refrigerate stock as soon as it cools down. 

How to Freeze Chicken Stock

Homemade stock is very easy to freeze large batches or divided into smaller portions. 

• Freeze stock in zip-top freezer bags and plastic air-tight containers for larger amounts, or muffins pans and ice cube trays for smaller portions. Use smaller portions in sauces and other recipes that call for just a little bit of stock and broth. 
• Larger containers – Divide cooled stock among the plastic, freezer friendly containers or freezer bags. Make sure to fill them no more than 3/4 of the way full to allow room for expanding as it freezes. Seal, label, and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Plastic bags can be laid on a large cutting board to freeze and then stacked when frozen. That will save room in the freezer. 
• Muffin pans and ice cube trays – Ladle cooled chicken stock into the muffin pan cups or ice cube trays. Carefully place in the freezer and freeze for about 3 hours until completely frozen. Once it’s frozen, transfer the cubes into freezer zip-top bags, seal, label and freeze. (You can portion the cubes into several smaller freezer bags as well.)

How to Reheat Frozen Chicken Stock?

The best way to thaw frozen chicken stock is overnight in the refrigerator. Once softened, pour it into a saucepan and warm over medium heat until steaming but not boiling — this helps preserve its rich flavor and texture.

If you’re in a hurry, you can place the frozen stock cube or bag directly into a pot over low heat. Stir occasionally as it melts.

Recipe FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions

What Other Herbs Can I Use?

Herbs that go well with chicken include rosemary, thyme, sage, and parsley, oregano, basil, dill, and tarragon. Although, most of these herbs have a pretty strong and specific flavor, that is why I use the mild thyme and parsley, because it will work with most other recipes. Since other recipes will have their own seasoning and herbs.

Why Is My Stock Cloudy?

Cloudy stock usually happens when the mixture boils too hard or isn’t skimmed during cooking. So make sure to skim any foam and cooked blood that rises to the top as the chicken cooks and keep the heat low.

How Long Will Chicken Stock Take to Cook in an Instant Pot?

In the pressure cooker, I recommend cooking the stock on high pressure for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Then, do a natural release for about 15-20 minutes. (Note that you may need to cut the recipe depending on the size of your Instant Pot capacity!)

How Long to Cook Chicken Stock in a Slow Cooker?

In a slow cooker, you want to give it about 10-12 hours of cooking on LOW. I do recommend searing chicken and vegetables in a skillet first to get the beautiful, golden-brown sear since it will infuse extra flavor into the stock. (Note that you may need to cut the recipe depending on the size of your slow cooker capacity!)

What Is the Best Way to Get Rid of the Extra Fat from Stock?

If you want to get rid of some or all accumulated fat, cool the stock and put it in the fridge, in a pot. Once cooled, the fat will harden at the top and then you can just lift it and take it off. 

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More Recipes That Use Chicken Stock

• Chicken Gnocchi Soup
• Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup
• The BEST Chicken Marinade
• Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
• Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup
• Parmesan Risotto

Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in August 2019.