This Homemade Chicken Stock has a full, rich flavor that has been slowly simmered for hours to give recipes a little extra boost. From soups to stews to rice, you will be thankful you have some set aside for any time you need it! Try it in my Chicken Pot Pie Soup or PERFECT Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup next time! (Options for Turkey Stock below!)
Homemade Chicken Stock
Chicken stock is different than chicken broth in that stock is generally made from the bones of a chicken and broth is made primarily from the meat. They can be used interchangeably, but the stock has a heavier flavor. Yes, you can buy chicken stock from a store, but it will not have even close to the flavor of homemade. Plus, homemade chicken stock is easy to store in the refrigerator or freezer and can be made in a variety of ways!
Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe
Chicken Stock is not only a wonderful flavor boost to recipes, but it’s also a great way to use the chicken bones from the roasted chicken you just devoured a couple of rotisserie chicken bones and skin or even an entire chicken. So, get what you need and I will show you how you can make your own chicken stock from now on.
How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock on the Stovetop
I made my homemade chicken stock on a gas stovetop. Yes, this method does make it a little cloudy, but it does not affect the flavor at all! So, get out a large stockpot and put the chicken bones (and skin, if you prefer) in there. Don’t worry about any meat that is still on the chicken. (You can actually separate that out at the end and use it for other recipes.)
Making Chicken Stock in a Slow Cooker
It’s very simple to get homemade chicken stock made in your slow cooker. First, place the chicken into the slow cooker. Next, add in the onion, celery, carrots, salt, and peppercorn. Again, the garlic is optional. Pour the water into the slow cooker until the ingredients are completely covered. Put the lid on, and cook on high for one hour. After cooking on high for one hour, change the setting to low to allow everything to simmer for 8-10 hours. The longer it simmers, the more flavor you will get. After it has simmered up to 10 hours, remove the bones and pour the stock through a small, fine-mesh strainer into jars.
Making Stock in an Instant Pot
The big difference when using your instant pot for the homemade chicken stock is not only the time it takes, but you do NOT need to add any vegetables to the pot. Just put the chicken into the pot, add water to cover the chicken, lock the lid, and cook the chicken for about 25 minutes on high pressure. After the pressure releases naturally (don’t manually release the pressure), remove the chicken (storing any that could be used later) and let the stock cool before pouring it into airtight containers.
How to Store Homemade Stock
Just like there are options when making homemade chicken stock, there are options when storing it. Here are some ways to keep your chicken stock on hand:
- Refrigerator: You can store homemade chicken stock in a refrigerator for up to 10 days if stored in an airtight container.
- Freezer: To store chicken stock in your freezer, first let the stock cool a little bit (about half an hour). Then, you can either store it in plastic freezer bags (to save room) or freezer-safe containers. Be sure to leave about an inch of room in the containers for the stock to expand. Also, label and date the containers. The chicken stock is good for up to 4 months in the freezer. Defrost it before using it.
- Pressure Canning: If you own a pressure canner, you can definitely use it to store your chicken stock. Be sure to read the directions carefully, as each brand of canner is a bit different.
Other Vegetable Options for Chicken Stock
If you don’t have an onion, celery, or carrots around, no problem. There are plenty of other vegetable options to add to your homemade chicken stock. You could use potato or sweet potato skins, the ends of asparagus or green beans, pea pods, and corn cobs. The vegetables I would stay away from would be any sort of cabbage, broccoli, hot peppers – or any vegetables you just don’t like!
How to Make Turkey Stock
The directions for turkey stock are the same as chicken, for the most part. You might have a larger carcass (depending on the size of your bird) so you may need less water to cover the carcass. The cook time may differ slightly, also depending on your method. A great thing about making turkey stock is that you can add the neck & giblets to the stock, which means those often discarded ingredients will not go to waste!
More Soups
Homemade Chicken Stock
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, meat mostly removed
- 1 large red onion, quartered
- 2 ribs celery cut into large pieces
- 3 medium carrots, cut into large pieces
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon peppercorn, can use ground pepper instead
- 12 cups water, (you may need less depending on the size of your chicken, start with 4 cups and add as needed)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled (optional)
Instructions
STOVETOP INSTRUCTIONS
- Place chicken in a large stockpot. Add onion, celery, carrots, salt, pepper, garlic (optional) and cover with water, making sure water is covering the ingredients (about 12 cups).
- Cook on a low simmer, covered for 4 hours. Add more water if needed to keep chicken covered with water while cooking.
- Remove chicken from the stock and strain the broth into jars through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding the vegetables.
- Store the stock in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator, or in your freezer for up to 3 months (using a freezer-safe container).
CROCKPOT INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the chicken into the slow cooker.
- Add in the onion, celery, carrots, salt, and peppercorn.
- Pour the water into the slow cooker until the ingredients are completely covered. Put the lid on, and cook on high for one hour.
- After cooking on high for one hour, change the setting to low to allow everything to simmer for 8-10 hours. (The longer it simmers, the more flavor you will get.)
- After it has simmered up to 10 hours, remove the bones and pour the stock through a small, fine-mesh strainer into jars.
INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS
- Put the chicken into the pot (no vegetables), add water to cover the chicken, lock the lid, and cook the chicken for about 25 minutes on high pressure.
- After the pressure releases naturally, remove the chicken (storing any that could be used later) and let the stock cool before pouring it into airtight containers.
Did you make this recipe?
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Looking for Recipes to Use Homemade Chicken Stock?
Now that you have your stock ready to use, let’s take advantage of that! Here are a few recipes that use chicken stock.
Every thanksgiving after the bird is eaten, I take the carcass, any raw vegetables I have on hand, a couple of bay leaves, a couple of cloves of garlic, a tablespoonish of peppercorns and a big pinch on salt and make stock either on the stove or in the pressure cooker. After it’s done and cool I freeze it in ice cube trays and for months after I can grab a few out of the freezer to use in place of water when cooking rice or noodle or in soups or stews. I always have carrots, celery and onions on hand for making thanksgiving dinner so this helps use up what is left. It’s almost like the ingredients are free since they may have gone to waste otherwise and it is so much better than store bought.
I do this but I put it all in my 8qt. Crock pot overnight on low. This makes awesome stock! I also save all my onion, celery, carrot, fresh herb ends and freeze them until I’m ready to make a batch of stock. You can also freeze the rotisserie chicken carcass if you don’t want to make the stock right away.