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Homemade Chicken Stock

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Homemade chicken stock is a game-changer. It's so incredibly flavorful and has rich depth of flavor. You'll be hard-pressed to want to pick up a box of stock off the store shelves after making your own at home!

I’ve never made homemade chicken stock before and I have heard many amazing things about homemade chicken stock.

One of which is the incredible FLAVOR and how concentrated it is compared to boxed chicken stock.

I started saving my rotisserie chicken carcass because we typically buy one every once in a while for quick and easy meals during the week.

I would remove all the meat from the bones and shred the chicken meat then I would put the chicken carcass in a gallon freezer bag and pop it in the freezer for when I had time to make chicken stock.

I collected two chicken carcass over the past two months and never “found” the time to make homemade chicken stock until I got terribly ill last Sunday with a stomach bug.

I ate bland foods for two days and by day three, I was so sick of white toast, saltines, and apple sauce that I decided I was going to make homemade chicken stock and have some kombucha to get my gut back on track.

Homemade chicken stock is a game-changer. It's so incredibly flavorful and has rich depth of flavor. You'll be hard-pressed to want to pick up a box of stock off the store shelves after making your own at home!

You typically use fresh herbs for homemade chicken stock but I had a little jar of bouquet garnis that Brandy brought me back from France.

Since I had two chicken carcasses, I used two bouquets and also used a bunch of fresh veggies and herbs.

Oh my gosh, you guys. Homemade chicken stock is the way to go.

As convenient as it is to grab a box of chicken stock on the grocery store shelves, there is something about homemade chicken stock that cannot be replicated in a box and mass produced.

I also think the bouquet garnis helps with the flavor.

The homemade chicken stock has such rich flavor and so much depth.

Homemade chicken stock is a game-changer. It's so incredibly flavorful and has rich depth of flavor. You'll be hard-pressed to want to pick up a box of stock off the store shelves after making your own at home!

Can you freeze it?

I know this is going to be the number one question and the answer is: yes.

I suggest freezing it in two cup increments because that’s typically how it’s used in recipes so you won’t have to defrost an entire vat of chicken stock just to use two cups.

How would you freeze it?

Use mason jars. I suggest wide mouth!

When you fill it, make sure you don’t overfill. That is how/why the glass cracks.

Water expands when frozen so you want enough room for it to expand, essentially.

Another crucial part is if you’re using mason jars that have “shoulders,” fill to below the shoulder. See my photo above, it could be a little lower

Let it sit at room temperature for 3-4 hours then put it in the fridge overnight.

Do not immediately put the hot/warm liquid into the freezer. This will almost guarantee that your glass will crack. The extreme temperature is not good.

Once it has sat in the fridge overnight (you’ll see a layer of fat on top, which is totally fine but if you don’t like it, you can skim it off with a spoon), place it into the freezer!

How long can you freeze it?

A long time. I read that it can be up to 9 months.

How long can it keep in the fridge?

Not long. Only 5 days max.

If you keep it in there any longer, the bacteria just starts getting to be too much and it’s not safe.

My chicken stock is all lumpy and congealed after it comes out of the fridge.

Yep, that’s normal. Once you warm it up over heat, it becomes liquid.

Is this technically bone broth?

I considered it bone broth. I mean, what else would it be? You’re boiling down chicken carcass which is bone.

When I was sick, I put the homemade chicken stock in a mug and warmed it up in the microwave and sipped on it.

It was SO good and made me feel great!

Can you make this in the slow cooker or Instant Pot?

I’m sure you can but I would say do it in the slow cooker vs. Instant Pot only because you want concentrated flavor and I feel that Instant Pot cooks everything too fast (which is not a bad thing but in this case, it is) so you wouldn’t get that rich depth of flavor.

In the slow cooker, I haven’t done it myself but I would imagine 6-8 hours would work.

Now that you’ve made homemade chicken stock, here are recipes you can make with it:

Homemade chicken stock is a game-changer. It's so incredibly flavorful and has rich depth of flavor. You'll be hard-pressed to want to pick up a box of stock off the store shelves after making your own at home! #homemade #madefromscratch #chickenstock

Homemade Chicken Stock

Make homemade chicken stock once and I guarantee you that you will be hard-pressed to buy it out of the box again.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Chill time: 1 hour
Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 1 gallon
Author: Julie Chiou
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Ingredients 

  • 2 whole chicken carcasses from rotisserie chicken
  • 5 stalks celery, halved
  • 5 carrots, chopped in 2-inch pieces
  • 1 large onion, quartered
  • Handful fresh parsley
  • 2 bouquet garnis, (see notes)

The default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.

Instructions

  • In a large stockpot, at least 8 quarts, place chicken carcasses in then put everything else around the chicken carcasses.
  • Fill the stockpot with water until the chicken carcasses are covered. Bring to a boil then reduce to an extremely gentle simmer (barely any bubbles) and let cook for 5 hours, uncovered. Stir occasionally.
  • After 5 hours, remove from heat. Let cool for 1 hour.
  • After 1 hour, remove the bones, as much as you can then place a large strainer over a large bowl and carefully pour contents of stockpot into the strainer.
  • Discard contents of the strainer then use a funnel and pour liquid into mason jars. Let sit at room temperature for a few hours then put in the fridge.
  • Read blog post for directions on freezing and also how long to keep in the fridge.

Recipe Notes

You don't have to have the bouquet garni that I got from France. It was dried herbs; you can make your own with fresh by tying together fresh thyme, sage, and bay leaves.

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken
Recipe Rating




Trevor Modo

Monday 20th of May 2019

Hi Julie, great chicken stock recipe thank you. Can I ask a question - do you also use all the juices from the cooking tray to make the stock? Most recipes seem to just call for water (and bones! ) Cheers Trev One tip from me - I don’t include the chicken skin in the stock base and I also always pop in a half Lemon/Lime to cut through any fatty taste ?

Julie Wampler

Tuesday 21st of May 2019

Hi, I don't use the juices from the cooking tray that the rotisserie chicken comes in because I noticed it was super fatty! I'm sure it's a lot of flavor but I omit. I do keep the chicken skin in the stock base though...so I guess if you want to use the juices from the cooking tray and are omitting the chicken skin..it's kind of like a trade-off.

Colette

Thursday 18th of April 2019

Thanks for your great blog! Your recipe looks yummy. As a nurse and current cancer fighter, I would love to see you recommend organic bones if at all possible. Non-organic chicken, beef, etc are subjected to glyphosate (the primary ingredient in RoundUp weed killer). It gets into their collagen and subsequently ours, causing multiple health issues. The linked article was written by an MIT grad and research professor Stephanie Seneff. https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/environmental-toxins/glyphosate-in-collagen/ Please review the information and make your own conclusion.

Julie Wampler

Friday 19th of April 2019

Thanks for the info so everyone can make their own conclusions and decisions!