How to Make Chicken Stock

Method 1: Leftover Chicken Bones

• Leftover bones and skin from a large cooked or raw chicken carcass (or two rotisserie chickens)
• Celery tops and 1 large celery rib, cut into 2-inch segments
• Onion, 1 large onion, quartered (no need to peel)
• Carrot, cut into 2-inch segments
• Parsley, 1 bunch
• Salt
• Pepper

1 Put the leftover bones and skin from a chicken carcass into a large stock pot. Add vegetables like celery, onion, carrots, parsley.

Cover with water. Add salt and pepper, about a teaspoon of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper.

2 Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to bring the stock to barely a simmer. Simmer partially covered at least 4 hours, occasionally skimming off any foam that comes to the surface.

3 Remove the bones and vegetables with a slotted spoon or spider ladle, and strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve.

4 If making stock for future use in soup you may want to reduce the stock by simmering an hour or two longer to make it more concentrated and easier to store.

Method 2: Chicken Stock with Raw Chicken Backs, Wings, and/or Legs

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 to 5 lbs of chicken backs, wings, and/or legs, skin-on, trimmed of excess fat, that have been hacked with a cleaver into 2-inch pieces (you can ask your butcher to prepare the chicken pieces this way)
• 1 large yellow onion, quartered (no need to peel)
• 1 large carrot, cut into 2-inch segments
• Celery tops and 1 large celery rib, cut into 2-inch segments
• 1 bunch of parsley
• Leek or green onion greens (if you have them)
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 quarts of cold water
• 1 Tbsp salt

1 Coat the bottom of a large stock pot (12 quart), with olive oil. Place half of the chicken pieces, skin side down in the bottom of the pot. Heat on medium high, and let cook until the the chicken is browned. Add the rest of the chicken pieces and stir the pot, cooking and occasionally stirring until the chicken is no longer pink.

2 Add the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, leek greens (if using), and bay leaf to the pot. Cover with 6 quarts of cold water.

3 Bring to a boil on high heat and reduce to a low simmer. If scum rises to the surface of the pot (this usually happens in the first half hour of cooking), skim off with a large metal spoon. Let simmer at a low simmer, uncovered, for 4 to 6 hours.

4 Use a large metal spoons with holes in it (or a « spider ladle« ) to ladle out the cooked chicken and vegetables. (These aren’t really good to eat, by the way, because after 4 hours of cooking, most of the flavor and nutrients have been cooked out of them and are now in the stock.) Discard.

5 Use a large sieve lined with dampened cheesecloth or a dampened paper towel (or if using a very fine mesh sieve no need to line), and place over a large bowl or another large pot. Pour the stock through the sieve into the bowl or pot to strain out any remaining solids.

6 Either pour into jars at this point, or if you want, what we like to do is to boil the stock on high heat for 1 hour, to reduce it by about half. This way you are storing concentrated stock, which takes less room in the freezer or refrigerator. When you are ready, pour into jars.

If you are freezing, you may want to ladle off some of the excess fat on the surface. (The fat helps preserve the stock in the fridge, but doesn’t help it in the freezer.) If freezing, leave at least 1-inch head space, allowing enough room for the liquid stock to expand as it freezes solid. (Otherwise, the expanding ice stock will break the jar.)

Let the stock cool in the sealed jars completely before freezing. Stock should last a week or so in the fridge, and several months in the freezer.

Method 3: Quick Chicken Stock

• 4 lbs of chicken backs, wings, and/or legs that have been hacked with a cleaver into 2-inch pieces. You can ask your butcher to prepare the chicken pieces this way.
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• Olive oil
• 2 quarts of boiling water
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 bay leaves

1 Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large stock pot. Add one chopped onion. Sauté until softened and slightly colored – 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

2 Add half of the chicken pieces to the pot. Sauté until no longer pink, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer cooked chicken to bowl with onions. Sauté the rest of the chicken the same way. Return onion and chicken pieces to the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken releases its juices, about 20 minutes.

3 While the chicken pieces are cooking, fill a large tea kettle with 2 quarts of water, bring to a boil.

4 After the chicken pieces have been cooking for 20 minutes, raise the heat level to high, add the 2 quarts of boiling water, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 bay leaves. Return to a low simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, then cover and barely simmer for about 20 minutes.

5 Strain stock through cheesecloth or paper towel-lined large sieve, and discard solids. (It helps to remove the big pieces of bone with a slotted spoon first.)

Pour into jars and let cool, before putting into the refrigerator. Stock will last a week or so in the refrigerator or frozen for several months.