Your kitchen will smell fabulous after 5 hours of slow simmering!
Making homemade chicken stock is easier than you probably think. It’s not an exact science, so don’t be too concerned if you’re a carrot or celery stick shy. The slow simmering draws the flavor out of the vegetables and leaves you with stock that’s perfect for braising, reducing or making homemade soup! I save the chicken meat from my bones and use it to make whatever soup I’m craving!
Makes: 8 cups • Prep Time: 30 minutes • Cook Time: 5 hours
Ingredients
- 1 roasting chicken
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 3 large carrots
- 2 stalks celery, cut in half
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 head of garlic, cut crosswise
- 2 whole clove
- 20 peppercorns
- 12 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 bunch parsley stems
- 12-16 cups of water
Method
1. Start by cleaning your chicken out and patting him dry. Then season the inside with lots of salt and pepper.
2. Stuff your chicken full of good aromatics like onion, celery, carrot, parsley, garlic, maybe even a lemon if you feel like it!
3. Tie the legs together so that he stays together while cooking.
4. Drizzle a little olive oil onto the skin and rub around to coat the outside.
5. Season the outside liberally with salt and pepper.
6. Pop your chicken in the oven at 350 degrees and roast for 2 hours, or until interal temperature reads 160 degrees. Once done, remove from oven and let cool completely (unless you’re eating the chicken right then, just let it rest for 10-20 minutes).
7. Remove all the chicken & the stuff you filled it with and place the bones on a baking sheet. Lining it with foil (not pictured) will help clean-up, for sure!
8. Roast the bones at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes.
9. In your stockpot heat a little olive oil in the bottom of the pan and toss in your veggies.
10. Let them get good and brown, this helps with the color and flavor — just make sure you don’t burn them!
11. Add parsley, herbs, peppercorns, cloves, and chicken bones and top with 3-4 quarts of water. If you’re shy on a bunch of the veggies or have a small chicken, I’d use only 3 quarts. Either way, it’ll reduce quite a bit and still be flavorful.
12. Let it simmer for 4-5 hours. Mine’s not quite simmering here. You want small bubbles forming, but not a boil. After simmering, remove all the big chunks and strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer and store or use.
See, that was easy, right?
