Customizable Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe

Making homemade chicken stock is one of those get-back-to-basics recipes that elevates so many dishes. Today I’ll show you how to make stock from leftover bones, basic aromatics, and leftover ingredients with multiple options to customize your batch!

Restaurants make their own stock as a base to soups, sauces, and an array of dishes to add a depth of flavor that’s hard to replicate from store-bought broth.

Bone Broth vs Chicken Stock vs Chicken Broth

Having become a bone broth aficionado for the last few years, I’ve come to learn the differences between stock and bone broth.  Chicken stock is more related to bone broth in that you simmer bones and aromatics for hours.

The difference is rich bone broth often requires more bones than stock and needs to be gently simmered for 12-24 hours to extract as much collagen as possible to increase the nutritional value.  The more gelatinous it is when it’s cooled, the better.

Chicken stock can be simmered for as little as 3 hours or up to 8 hours.  Stock generally doesn’t require as many bones unless you’re really wanting to up the amount of collagen in your stock.

Basically, they are the same thing with slight variations.

Chicken broth on the other hand is a quick version of the two above that won’t pack as much flavor because you aren’t simmering bones for hours.  The flavor comes from simmering the meat and aromatics.

Can I speed up the cooking process for stock?

Absolutely!  I have tested lots of bone broth recipes over the years and the same rules apply to stock.  An Instant Pot or pressure cooker will be your best friend for cooking incredibly flavored broth in less than 3 hours!

Check out my Instant Pot Bone Broth recipe here.  It’s very similar to this recipe but you use more bones to make the broth.

What if I can’t be by the stove for so many hours?

In this case, the slow cooker will be your best bet for slowly simmering your stock without having to babysit it.  You can increase the time to 8-12 hours if you want to cook it all day or overnight.  

The only downside is the size of the crockpot may not be as big as a stock pot, so your recipe will make less broth.  But it’s still the best option so that you don’t have to worry about leaving the house or being away from your kitchen while it’s cooking.

What kind of bones do you use?

You can use a whole chicken carcass or a combination of bones from leftover chicken wings, thighs, and breasts.

Or you can buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken and save the bones. You freeze the bones in a container or freezer bag for up to one month.

Can I cook the meat on the bones in the stock too?

Yes you can, but you’ll need to remove the meat when it’s cooked through, let it rest for at least 10 minutes, then cut or pull the meat off of the bones. You’ll want to add the bones back to the broth to finish simmering.

I love to roast my own chicken. enjoy it for dinner, then save the bones for stock to really stretch a dollar and make good use of all ingredients.

Check out my Upside Down Roasted Chicken Recipe for a mouth-watering recipe!

To get started, simply crush the garlic and leave the skins on. Chop the carrots into halves or thirds. Quarter the onions and leave the skins on.

Now add the bones to a large stock pot, instant pot, or slow cooker. Add filtered water (if possible) and the aromatics from the photo above, along with peppercorns and herbs.

Partially cover the pot with a lid and bring the water to a gentle simmer. Lower the heat to low and keep the lid on but only partially covering the pot.

After three hours the stock will look like the photo below. If you’d like to simmer it for more than 3 hours or up to 8 hours, you’ll need to remove some of the foam that rises to the top.

If the water level lowers during longer simmering, you can add more water back to the pot. See the recipe card for instructions on cooking the stock in an Instant Pot or slow cooker.

Storing the Stock

You can pour the stock into mason jars and use a tea strainer to remove any solids from the stock. Leave one inch of space from the top to allow for expansion when you freeze your stock, otherwise the glass could crack in the freezer. Cover with the mason jar lid when it’s cooled.

Refrigerate and use the stock within three days or freeze for one month.

Enjoy this broth on its own in a cup or use it to cook rice, risotto, sauces, etc.!

Freeze broth into ice cubes

A simple way to freeze this stock is to freeze them into ice cubes! Once the cubes are frozen, remove them from the ice cube tray and store in a container or freezer bag.

This takes up less space in your freezer and when you are ready to use it, you can thaw only a small portion of broth at once.

Recipes to make with homemade stock

Easy Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

White Bean Chicken Meatball Soup with Pesto

Or check out this post with 5 soup recipes to pair with sourdough bread

Don’t forget to save your chicken bones and make flavorful stock at home. So many dishes will be elevated with it and you’ll save money too!

Bon Appetit Ya’ll,

Leslie O.

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