Homemade chicken stock or broth is an absolute staple for any home chef and it couldn't be easier to make. After you make this once you'll never go back to canned broth.
Broths typically are made with the meat and vegetables and stocks are typically made using the bones and simmered for longer. I guess that makes this recipe a bone broth stock, since I use both the meat and then do a long simmer with the bones.
Yield: 2-3 Quarts
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Free-range Chicken (3-5lbs)
- 4 Quarts Water (filtered if possible)
- One Yellow Onion Cut in Half
- 2 Whole Carrots
- 2 Stalk Celery
- 1 Tbsp Salt
- ~10 Whole Pepper Corns (you can use ground pepper as well)
Directions
- Thaw the Chicken (this can take upwards of 24 hours in the fridge see thawing instructions)
- Add water to large stock pot - 8 Quart or larger
- Add Chicken and salt to pot and bring to rolling boil (not a hard boil) for approximately 60-75 minutes to cook to temp (guideline is an internal meat temp of 165 degrees). You can also check to see if the meat is fully cooked by carefully removing the chicken from the stock pot using kitchen tongs and a slotted spoon (try to drain completely over the pot) to a large plate or mixing bowl and poking the thickest part of the breast or thigh to see if the juices run clear.
- Carefully remove the chicken from the stock pot and set on a large plate or in a large mixing bowl to cool.
- Skim the foam and film from the top of the broth and discard.
- Reduce temperature to a simmer and add onion, celery and peppercorns
- Once chicken is cool enough to handle (approx 20-30 minutes), cut or pull the breast, thigh, wing and oyster meat away from the bone and set aside. The oyster meat is the two little nuggets of meat from back of the chicken just behind the thighs.
- Take the poached chicken meat and cut into 1/2 in cubes or pull apart using forks to use immediately or save for recipes like chicken noodle soup, enchiladas, chicken salad, chicken wraps, etc.
- Add all the skin and bones back to the stock pot once most the meat is removed.
- Cover and simmer on low to med-low for another 2-24 hours. You want it to just slightly be boiling, not a hard boil. (Tip: If you have chicken bones from past meals freeze them and add them to this broth to help make it extra rich and further enhance the umami taste)
- Occasionally skim the foam and film from the top of the stock and discard.
- If the water boils down too far add enough so you maintain between 2-3 quarts of liquid in the pot. In an 8 qt pot think 1/3 to 1/2 half full.
- Once your are done simmering your broth, turn off stove and let cool to a safe handling temperature.
- Place 1 pint to 1 quart wide mouth glass mason jars or plastic storage containers in your sink. Grab a helper to hold a fine mesh strainer over the storage containers and carefully pour the broth into the storage containers leaving about 1/2 inch head room.
- Seal the containers with the lids and put in the fridge or freezer. You can keep in the fridge for roughly a week before use and frozen broth lasts over a year.
- I leave the fat in the stock because once cooled it creates an air tight barrier to enhance the shelf life in the fridge and you can always scrape it off before use in your favorite recipes that call for chicken broth or stock.
- Discard the bones or veggies, otherwise if you want to minimize waste separate any remaining meat from the bones and remove the carrots from the pot to feed to your dogs.
