Okay, so we’ve conquered cooking a whole chicken without looking directly at it and pretending not to see his legs. And then we’ve used two of the four cups of leftover meat. What should you do now? Make homemade chicken stock of course!
When you make a roast or baked chicken, don’t throw anything away……anything! We’re going to use it all to make some amazing rich-tasting and healthy homemade chicken stock. Oh, and in case you were wondering, you can also use this same method with beef bones, any poultry bones, or pork bones.
Want a tip that you may not have heard before?
We’re going to get out our big stop pot and use up all the leftover bones and the innards to make homemade chicken stock. AND ARE YOU READY FOR MY SECRET TIP? We are going to add two tablespoons of cider vinegar to the pot!! Crazy, right? What does the vinegar do? It breaks down the bones and draws out the calcium into the broth. Let your pot sit for 45 minutes or so to help the vinegar do it’s thang before you start boiling it. Once the bones and water to a boil, I reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for a long time – we’re talking 12-24 hours!
About an hour before it’s done, you can add some veggies for flavor.
It will give the broth extra vitamins and minerals, plus, it’s very tasty. And guess what? You don’t have to peel anything if you don’t want too! Just wash and chop because we’re not going to eat them. They’ll be skimmed out.
You need a really big bowl and a colander to strain out the veggies and bones from the broth. Remember, you have 16 cups of liquid, so don’t underestimate your bowl size! Pour everything slowly and let the colander catch all the bones and veggies.
Never put hot stuff in your fridge.
Let the broth cool to room temperature. Never put hot stuff in the fridge Did I mention that? 😉 If you learn nothing else today, don’t put hot stuff in your fridge. It changes the temperature and can do weird things to the stuff you already have in there. When it’s cool, put it in the refrigerator for a couple hours.
If your chicken has a lot of fat, after a quick chill in the fridge, the fat will rise to the top. Some chickens have little or none others have more – just skim it off the cooled broth if you’d like. To store, I like to freeze in individual 1 or 2 cup-sized containers so that you have homemade chicken stock ready to go whenever you need it for a recipe.
How easy was that?
And in case I forgot to mention… not only is homemade chicken stock affordable and delicious – it’s also VERY GOOD for you – full of vitamins and minerals. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!
Homemade Chicken Stock
- Chicken bones and innards from a 2-4 pound chicken
- 16 cups cold water
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- Place bones and other goop in a large stock pot.
- Add water and vinegar. Let stand for 45 minutes.
- Bring to a boil on the stove. Skim any yuckiness that rises to the top.
- Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 4 hours.
- One hour before it’s done, add the veggies.
- Remove from heat when done and let cool for 20 minutes.
- Strain and throw away bones and veggies. Let cool to room temperature.
- Refrigerate until chilled. You may skim the fat off if you like.
- Put into containers for freezing or use in the next few days.
I freeze my stock in 1 cup blocks then store them in ziplock bags. This makes it pre-measured and easy to store.
Stacy, after the broth is frozen you can remove from container and put into a storage bag, then you can use your container again for more things.
Yep! I do that now. 🙂 I didn’t then.
I make mine about the same way. I use the crockpot, add the vinegar, I keep onions peels, celery ends and carrots all in the crock also. The peels help intensify the stocks color. I also add a pinch of turmeric to help the color and sea salt for flavor. After everything’s in the crockpot, I cook it on low for 24 hours. Then I use the jars I’ve saved from other things and leave an inch head space for freezing. Once cooled it goes into the freezer. I save jar and use my canning jars for this purpose.
I can honestly say that’s never happened to me….it sounds like you were boiling instead of simmering?
ok, am I the only one this happened to? I’ve made stock previously in the crock pot, but found your blog and decided to try this recipe today. You said to leave it on medium low and it can cook longer than 4 hours. So I let it go, even put it down to simmer. It hit 3 hours while we were away at the store. I came home to put the veggies in it and there was like an inch of stock left in the pot with all the chicken pieces! I’ve added water and will try to let it cook longer, but I was just wondering if this had happened to anyone!
It happened to me too, and I had left the pot on the lowest heat I could. I wanted to try it this way because I couldn’t get 16 cups of liquid to fit in my crockpot along with all the goop. Oh well.
If you skim the fat off the top, it’s a FP…otherwise it’s an S. 🙂
Where would the stock fall in regards to THM?
Sure! Just switch it over there and cook overnight. 🙂
Is there a way to do this in the crock pot? We have a propane stove and my husband frowns on me simmering anything for 4 hours at a time
I’m ancient, don’t know how to cook and came across your natural borax remedy for those lovely insects called ants. I love all my aunts but not the ones that intrude in my home. I am brewing the concoction now with the hope that tomorrow brings death to those unwanted insects, I have yet to know there real purpose in life anyway.
I love the posts…..and the humor. Thanks.
Larry
🙂 I hope it works great for you, Larry!
Thank you
How long can this remain in the freezer?
I’d easily say 6 months to a year.
Hi Stacy,
Do you have other recipes on how to make homemade cream soups. I like your cream of chicken but what about the other ones. Cream of celery, mushroom, broccoli etc.
I’m trying to do away with buying the canned stuff.
Thanks, Linda
Sure! I use this recipe from Heavenly Homemakers – and substitute celery for the mushrooms if needed: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/homemade-cream-of-mushroom-soup
I have this on the stove top right now! So excited! I hope to never buy stock again unless in a pinch!
Woohoo!!! 🙂
A frugal tip – I save the peels, ends, leftover bits from celery, onions and carrots as well as any bones from thighs or other cuts of meat than whole chickens in a gallon size bag in the freezer. When I get a full bag or two, I make a batch of broth and then make soup with it or can it. I also stick in waste parts such as stems of herbs like rosemary and basil and add those for more flavor. That way you don’t have to waste whole carrots or onions. And I add the peels from the garlic and onion, too!
I do that too! 🙂
That is how I do it also.
Hi Stacy, I have a question. I am making chicken stock today for the first time. I put all the goop and the cider vinegar in the pot and was going to let it sit for the 45 minutes that the recipe calls for, however, I had to run to the store and then pick up my son from school, so it sat more for like 2 hours. Do you think that will be okay? I mean you don’t think any harmful bacteria grew in that amount of time do you? Thank you for your help, Andrea
I think you should be fine, unless it was overly hot in your home. 🙂
You know!! You could leave the chicken bones and bits in the crock pot! instead of using the stock pot. Add all the veggies and other ingredients for the stock and cook in the crock pot overnight on low! So Easy! Thats what I do. Recipe was found at 100daysofrealfood.com its a website about eating whole foods and cutting out processed foods!
All my friends make their’s in the crock pot….but as much as I love my crock, I just don’t do it that way. And I can’t tell you why. LOL
One way to store the broth is to put it in ice cube trays, freeze it, then store the cubes in a big freezer bag. Allows you to portion it out for a little or a lot depending on your needs!
You’re so right! I should have that up there. I’ve posted it on Facebook, but forgot to add it here. 🙂
I have started to make my own chicken stock and I put it into ice cube trays and freeze, then once they’ve frozen I dump them into a large gallon size ziploc bag and just take out cubes as I need them. I’ve found that 3-4 cubes equal one cup, so if i’m making a stir fry or something in the crockpot I always have chicken stock to add more flavor! I used to buy chicken stock all the time and I really didn’t know exactly HOW to make stock – I know that sounds stupid but I just didn’t know how. I can’t tell you how much I have been saving!! Thank you Stacy for all your amazing tips, tricks & wonderful recipes. I look forward to your emails/posts daily!!! You’re so funny, I know I probably sound like a crazy fool sitting here reading my email and laughing like crazy while I sit at my desk. I share a large secretarial suite with two other secretaries… they look at me in wonder when I start giggling every morning lol… They just wouldn’t understand so I just smile and let them think i’m insane – keeps the mystery alive in our relationship so they don’t mess with me 🙂 haha!
Ha, ha! This made me laugh! 🙂 Your ice cub trays must be really big! Mine only hold about 2 tbsp of liquid per cube.
We’ve been making broth for quite some time now and love it! I ended up buying a case of 1.5 cup glass mason jars (with a coupon) since I have a thing about storing stuff in plastic. (However, I do end up freezing a few 6-8 cup amounts in large Gladware for soups.). When I need to use the broth, I put the glass mason jar(s) in a pot of water and heat it up on the stove to defrost the broth (since I have a thing about microwaves too). I have found glass mason jars to come in VERY handy when it comes to making/storing homemade items. They are the perfect find at garage sales too!
I made a chicken in the crock pot tonight. I may make this tomorrow! You can always use freezer bags to freeze it in to.
I’m hungry now & totally get your desire for the “frilly” aprons. Maybe we should start a club?? Oh yeah, we live too far apart. Bummer 😉
Definitely too far away. 🙂
I love making homemade stock…I should really do it more often. If I have carrots and celery starting to be questionable, aka – limp! – I throw those in too so they don’t go to complete waste!
I really need it with a face like mine!