Basic Chicken Stock

Name: Basic Chicken Stock
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 3 h 15 min
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: 11 cups
Ingredients: 1 roasting chicken, about 6 pounds, cut into 8 pieces, giblets reserved; 12 cups water; 2 medium yellow onions, quartered; 3 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced; 4 whole garlic cloves; 2 whole bay leaves; 6 sprigs parsley; 1 teaspoon dried rosemary; 4 black peppercorns; 1/4 teaspoon salt

Submitted by breezermom

"I make this every couple of months to have chicken stock/broth on hand for recipes. I can use the cooked chicken for recipes, and all the sodium and preservatives are eliminated from my chicken stock. The smell in your house while this is cooking will make you hungry! It smells wonderful. For convenience, I freeze the stock into ice cube trays and then put them into freezer bags. 5 to 6 cubes is equal to one cup. The stock will be good in the freezer for about 6 months."

Download

photo by Dreamer in Ontario

Ready In:: 3hrs 30mins
Ingredients:: 10
Yields:: 11 cups

ingredients

1 roasting chicken, about 6 pounds, cut into 8 pieces, giblets reserved
12 cups water
2 medium yellow onions, quartered
3 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
4 whole garlic cloves
2 whole bay leaves
6 sprigs parsley
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
4 black peppercorns
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt

directions

Place the chicken and giblets (except the liver) in a large stockpot. Add the water and bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat, skimming off all scum.
Adjust the heat so that the water still bubbles gently, then add the remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, for 3 hours, occasionally skimming off the scum.
Pour all through a large colander or sieve set over a very large heatproof bowl. Save the chicken to use in soups, salads, sandwiches, etc. Discard the other solids. Let the stock cool. Cover it with plastic food wrap, and place in the refrigerator overnight.
In the morning, uncover the stock and discard the fat that has solidified on the top, then ladle the stock into ice cube trays for freezing. Once frozen, store in freezer bags and use in recipes!

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!

Reviews

This stock turned out great! I made exactly as written except perhaps adding a bit more water. I did use 3 chicken legs instead of a whole chicken, pretty sure that it did not make a difference. A rich beautiful stock that will come in handy in all my rice dishes, soups, stews etc. I just love making my own stock. Thanks for posting this keeper!

Deantini
Wonderful stock. I used chicken leg quarters instead of a whole chicken but otherwise made this as directed. I used some of the stock to make Recipe #381521. Made for Gimme 5 tag.

Dreamer in Ontario
Haven't made this much stock before but it's going to be so useful. First time using garlic in a stock and I liked it. Added some thyme as well.

littlemafia
A deliciously flavoursome stock that's so very easy to make and that I am confident will enhance the flavour of all the recipes I use it in. :) And it's great knowing that it contains no chemicals! I made this yesterday, as I was planning to use it in making breezermom's Recipe #328668. After it had come to the boil, I simply transferred everything into a crockpot and cooked it on low for about 8 hours. Thank you, smellyvegetarian, for assuring me that my guesstimate re-time was fine! I just love the put-on-and-forget-about-it element in using a crockpot for a recipe such as this, though the wonderful aromas as it bubbled away made forgetting it was cooking impossible! I only departed from the recipe in a few minor details: I doubled the garlic, added a leek and also added some dried rosemary and sage to the other herbs. All regular additions for me in many recipes. I'll certainly be making this regularly, breezermom. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.

bluemoon downunder
I was initially wary that this stock recipe doesn't contain celery, but rest assured the flavor does NOT suffer for it. I was in and out all day so I threw everything in the crock pot and set it on low for about 7 1/2 hours, and it came out perfectly. I also coarsely chopped my veggies since I wasn't planning to use them again. I was especially pleased that, with a few moments of effort, I now have an entire freezer bag of chicken to use in recipes AND a delicious rich stock to boot. Thanks so much for posting! Made for Went to Market tag.

jessi_mcg

Tweaks

I used 48 oz of Swanson chicken broth and 7 cups of water. Quartered a 4.5 lb chicken. Diced 1 1/2 washed unpeeled onions and 2 stalks chopped celery, and more like a tsp of peppercorns. Brought to a slow boil and then let it simmer for an hour. Took the chicken pieces out, removed the meat, and put the skin, bones, etc back in the stock for about another 45 minutes. I didn't want the meat for a soup to cook longer than that, but I would have let the stock cook longer after returning the bones and all back in, just didn't have the time. Great, easy recipe. Thanks!

Marji
Wonderful stock. I used chicken leg quarters instead of a whole chicken but otherwise made this as directed. I used some of the stock to make Recipe #381521. Made for Gimme 5 tag.

Dreamer in Ontario
This stock turned out great! I made exactly as written except perhaps adding a bit more water. I did use 3 chicken legs instead of a whole chicken, pretty sure that it did not make a difference. A rich beautiful stock that will come in handy in all my rice dishes, soups, stews etc. I just love making my own stock. Thanks for posting this keeper!

Deantini