Easy Chicken Stock

This easy chicken stock recipe is one that happens about once a month in my kitchen. Usually on a weekend when I can have a pot on the stove simmering away for a few hours. I’ve discovered a couple of ways to save time and effort making this so simple. For example I don’t bother browning the chicken first, peeling the onion and sometimes I don’t even bother skimming the simmering stock. Making your own stock saves money, as you don’t need to buy ready made stock or use stock cubes or concentrate. It also has the advantage that you know exactly what has gone into it. I find stock cubes can, depending on the brand, contain more salt that I would like. Furthermore it gives me the satisfaction of making homemade stock – perfect for homemade soups (blog post to follow).

One of the skills I have picked up from the cookery classes and courses I have done over the years is how to joint a chicken. So we regularly buy a whole chicken and I will portion it up and make one chicken feed the two of us for 3 meals and freeze the carcass. When I have three or more ‘dead chickens’ in the freezer, what we call the carcasses, I defrost and make stock. I then intron either use the stock that week or freeze it. Stock freezes really well without affecting the flavour.

With stock if I know I want to use it for something in particular I will add things to it. If I know I will be making a certain soup, for example curried parsnip – I will add a parsnip whilst making the stock along with fresh garlic, ginger and coriander stalks. If you were using the stock for an Asian ramen add some chilli, and why not throw in some 5 spice and more peppercorns.

So do play around with this recipe if you have a use in mind. The chicken stock recipe I have given is my standard stock that is a great all-rounder for uses in many different dishes. You can use this for my Pretender’s Paella Recipe or my Painless Chicken and Bacon Pie Recipe.

If you want to make your own concentrated version of this stock. Maybe you have a small freezer and so space is a premium. You can follow the directions below and once you have strained the stock add back to the pan and boil to reduce down and concentrate the flavour. This will mean you have much deeper flavour and less liquid. Then use that as concentrated stock and dilute to taste.

If you tackle this chicken stock recipe do let me know how you get on, and what changes you make to it. Let me know your favourite take on this in the comments below.
Why not show me how it goes on Instagram and tag me @cubbinthekitchen and #CUBBintheKitchen for a chance to be featured in my stories.

Easy Chicken Stock

Liquid gold from which so many dishes are born from & so easy to make

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Sauces

Cuisine All

Servings 1 litre

Calories 103 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 2-3 Chicken Carcasses Raw or Cooked
• 2 Carrots
• 1 Onion
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• Bunch Fresh Thyme
• 7-10 Whole Black Peppercorns
• 1-2 Bay Leaves

Instructions

 

• Peel Carrots and chop either lengthways or just in half works

  Quarter the Onion – no need to peel but feel free if you so desire

  Lightly squash the cloves of garlic so they are still holding together but there are gaps for the flavour to seep out.
• Using kitchen scissors, chop the chicken carcasses into chunks. (I tend to take off breast bone and halve what’s left)

  Put the Chicken into your largest pan along with the rest of the ingredients and cover with cold water.
• Pop on a lid and bring it up to a simmer. You don’t want this to be a rapid boil. The simmering will bring any scum to the top.
• Using a ladle or large metal spoon skim off any scum that rises – this usually happens in the first half an hour. (Occasionally I will skip this step and if I’m honest the stock has been fine)
• Simmer the stock for the first two hours with the lid on.

  Remove the lid and simmer for a further two hours.
• Using a slotted spoon remove the big ingredients and discard the 4 hours of simmering have cooked out any nutrients they had.

  Strain the stock, either through a fine sieve or through a sieve lined with kitchen roll or muslin.
• You can either skim the fat off now with a metal spoon or leave to chill and it develops a ‘fat cap’. You can then remove this if you wish or leave it and remove before use.

Notes

FAT CAP – I find that the ‘fat cap’ is really useful. It seals the stock in an airtight environment, this keeps it fresher for longer as bacteria needs air to grow.

FREEZING – If I want to freeze my stock I generally freeze it in portions. I pour from a measuring jug into a freezer bag. Tie it up and freeze.

Keyword Chicken, Cooking, Easy, Family, Homemade, Ingredient, Sauce, Simple, Soup, Stock