How Do You Make Chicken Stock?
This Recipe Is the Culinary Equivalent to Your Favorite Pair of Jeans
Simmering up a batch of homemade chicken stock may just be the kitchen task most closely tied to feeling like you have your sh*t together. Not only is it a great way to imbue your apartment — no matter how cramped or cluttered — with a homey, motherly vibe, but it also means that you'll soon be the proud owner of a couple quarts of the culinary equivalent to a great pair of jeans. Unassuming, yes, but a vital building block to many recipes, and, similar to how pulling on your favorite pair of skinnies makes you feel, cooking with homemade stock instantly makes everything it touches taste better.
Now, I get what you're thinking. Can't I just pick up a quart of boxed chicken stock or a jar of Better Than Bouillion and call it a day? Sure, you could, and of course, sometimes I do, but when I can, and especially when I'm making a brothy soup, I strongly prefer to go the homemade route. My secret to making this all doable, rather than feeling like a chore, lies in the freezer. Whenever I have the time and inclination to simmer up a batch of stock, I cool and then freeze any extra in freezer-safe quart bags (I find one- and two-cup portions to be the most useful). These bags of frozen stock are basically liquid gold, easily thawed out whenever a recipe calls for it.
The recipe itself is adaptable to what you have on hand and how much time you have. Outlined are the absolute best practices, and if you follow the recipe to a T, it'll yield a broth that is superlative. It is at once super savory (thank you, mushrooms!), velvety, nutritious, and clear. That said, if you don't have the exact quantities on hand or have a bit less time to spare, don't stress. Simmering up a batch shouldn't feel like a burden or a chore. The recipe notes and instructions let you know where there is some wiggle room.
Chicken Stock
From Nicole Perry, POPSUGAR Food
Notes
If, in the course of making a different recipe, you spatchcock or break down a whole chicken into parts, save the backbones in your freezer until you're ready to make stock (I also like to save the bony wing tips trimmed away when roasting or frying wings). These can be used instead of or as part of the total weight of chicken parts. Alternatively, if you ask, many butcher counters will sell you chicken backbones, which are a more economical alternative to wings. Leftover chicken carcasses from roasted whole chickens can also be used for up to half of the weight of chicken (use at least half raw chicken for the best flavor and texture).
Unless the peels are particularly gnarly, there's no need to peel the vegetables (even the onions and garlic) as all of the solids will be strained away. Instead, give them a good wipe down/rinse/scrub to remove any dirt.
The addition of mushrooms isn't traditional or absolutely crucial, but it boosts the savoriness of the stock.
If you'd like to save the parsley leaves for a different recipe, you can substitute twice the amount of parsley sprigs. If you don't have parsley on hand, a few sprigs of fresh thyme are a good alternative (and woodier thyme sprigs will last in your fridge longer than softer parsley).
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as refined coconut or avocado oil; enough to coat the bottom of your pot
2 medium onions, quartered
4 medium carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 pound button or cremini mushrooms, chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 pounds chicken wings
10 parsley sprigs (stems included), chopped
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Directions
The Absolute Best Way:
- In a 5 1/2-quart dutch oven or stock pot, heat the oil until it is shimmering, but not smoking, over medium-high heat. Add the onions, cut-side down, flipping them onto their other cut side after they are golden to deep brown, a few minutes. Brown on the other side, then add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, and garlic; stir so that some of the other (nononion) vegetables make contact with the pot. Cook, stirring once or twice, for about 10 minutes while you prep the chicken wings.
- While the vegetables brown, use a pair of sturdy kitchen shears to snip the chicken wings into roughly 2-inch pieces. If you have a cleaver, use it to cut through the drumstick of each wing (your kitchen shears may not be able to handle that). Cutting the wings into pieces exposes more surface area and also some of the bone marrow, which will add flavor and nutrition to the broth.
- Add 10 cups of filtered water to the pot, then add the chicken wings, parsley, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Bring to an energetic simmer, then reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer.
- Cook for 2-3 hours (the longer, the better). Periodically skim off and discard foamy bits using a spoon.
- Use a spider skimmer to remove (and discard) the chicken and vegetables, then strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer into a large heat-safe bowl. (A ladle makes this easier and safer.) To clarify the broth (the broken chicken bones will have made the broth cloudy), strain the broth a second time, this time lining the fine-mesh strainer with cheesecloth, a large coffee filter, or a paper towel, before pouring the stock through it. If using a coffee filter or paper towel, dampen it first, like how you would when making coffee, to take away the papery taste.
- Use immediately, or divvy up among mason jars or other leak-proof containers and refrigerate. Refrigerated, stock will last about a week; frozen, for 6 months.
The Shortcut Way:
- Omit the oil, and add the onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic, chicken (to save time, don't cut up the wings), parsley, peppercorns, bay leaf, and 10 cups of filtered water to a 5 1/2-quart dutch oven or stockpot. Over medium-high heat, bring to an energetic simmer, then reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer.
- Cook for 2-3 hours (the longer, the better). Periodically skim off and discard foamy bits using a spoon.
- Use a spider skimmer to remove (and discard) the chicken and vegetables, then strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer into a large heat-safe bowl. (A ladle makes this easier and safer.)
- Use immediately, or divvy up among mason jars or other leak-proof containers and refrigerate. Refrigerated, stock will last about a week; frozen, for 6 months.
Information
- Category
- Soups/Stews, Stock/Broth
- Cuisine
- North American
- Yield
- About 2 quarts
