Homemade Chicken Stock
After you use your chicken, don’t forget to turn it into broth!
Adapted from Sun Grown Kitchen
Ingredients
4 to 6 quarts frozen chicken bones and backs and vegetable scraps including onion, celery and carrot ends and peels
4 to 6 quarts water
4+ bay leaves
dried or fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, marjoram, etc.)
salt and pepper (not too much, just a teaspoon or two)
Instructions
- Add your frozen chicken bones and vegetable scraps to a large pot. Fill the pot with water to cover the scraps. The exact amounts don’t matter, just add all the scraps you have saved and fill your pot with water.
- Start on the stovetop over medium heat for about 15 minutes to bring it up to a simmer. Then lower the heat to LOW and simmer, don’t boil, for about 4 hours or more. I like to do overnight or for 24 hours.
- Allow stock to cool on the stovetop at least 30 minutes before straining and ladling into your containers for freezing. Cool jars completely, overnight in the fridge, before transferring to the freezer.
- To use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Notes
Kitchen scraps to save in the freezer for stock – any cooked chicken bones or carcasses (even if you’ve eaten them) peels from onion, carrot, celery, and tomato. Extra veggie scraps such as ends from asparagus, Brussel sprouts, bell pepper, green beans, zucchini, butternut squash, broccoli or cauliflower. Stems from kale, parsley or other herbs (not cilantro or mint).
Keep your pot of stock just barely bubbling, not totally still but not boiling. This is usually low to medium low heat.
