For some reason, making chicken stock has always sounded very daunting to me, so it's great to have this "chicken stock 101"! Thanks a lot!

I have just boned 3kilos of chicken thighs, and made your method 1 chicken stock out of the bones, do you have a chicken soup recipe I can use it with? maybe a chicken noodle soup my kids love it!!

I got a free frozen turkey back in November and I finally made it for our super bowl party. I'm going to use method 1 and make turkey stock!

Actually, the difference between broth and stock is the amount of flesh to bone used and more importantly the resulting gelatin content. Stocks have more bones than flesh and vice versa with broths. For example to make a broth you'd generally use a whole stewing hen in place of an equivalent weight of bones/feet. Stocks are also 'simmered' longer (at least 6-8 hours) to fully extract the gelatin from the bones which then can be reduced and used for a demi-glace for instance. Broths can be used for this, but it's not as effective as they contain less gelatin. As a personal choice I never add salt until I know what I'll use the stock for. Though everyone has their method.

Wonderful recipes found here, regards.

Thanks so much for the veggie stock recipe too. Hubby doesn't like soup but mostly chicken soup so I have been trying to find a way to make a meatless broth.

I don't know if its broth or stock, but i simply boil a chicken utill cooked (30 mins)remove the meat when cooled,return all body parts(bones, skin,gizzards)back to the pot and boil another 4 hours, adding water if needed.strain and skim.done. the boiled chicken meat can be reserved,or add to the broth with some veggies for soup. never add salt to the boiling water as it will become more intense as the liquid reduces.

I have made chicken stock before, but the first method is intriguing, with the vegetables. At the risk of sounding too frugal, are there any suggestions on things to use the vegetables in additional recipes or do they cook too long? I love to cook, but I hate to waste!

If you are being frugal, put the carrots and celery in only for the last hour of cooking. Make sure that they are big pieces so you can easily fish them out. As soon as they are cooked through, remove them. If you are making chicken soup, you can cut up the veggies and return them to the soup after you have strained the stock. ~Elise

Thanks for your recipe. I have severe allergies to the spices and onion and MSG that is in store-bought stock and soups, so it's VERY nice to now be able to make my own soups.

Quick chicken-noodle recipe that I use:

I prepare my chicken broth ahead of time (the above recipes work great- I just leave out the onion and bay leaves).

-I pre-cook my noodles till soft by not soggy.
-Mix 3 parts broth to 1 part water in a small pot. Skim off fat from the broth.
-Add salt to your preference. Usually a lot for me to add flavour.
-Add some shredded chicken (from what I used to make the broth- usually chicken breasts w/ bone and skin)
-Add some finely shredded carrots and celery. Other veggies as you prefer.
-Simmer on stove till all ingredients are warm and carrot shreds are soft.
-Let cool a bit and serve!

You can even make this in a bowl in the microwave if you keep stock/noodles/cooked chicken in the fridge or freezer. You can also use rice instead of noodles.

Hi there, a quick question about the first recipe. I recently did a roast chicken to feed myself at work etc for cheap, and am going to make stock with the leftover bones etc. My question is, because I'm at work from 10 in the morning to 10 at night, I don't really have time to spend 4 hours doing this. I was wondering if it was fine to leave it on a lower heat for longer whilst I'm at work? Admittedly I won't be able to spoon the stuff off the surface while I'm away.

Hello Chris, Leaving the house with the stove on and nobody to watch it is dangerous. You might want to invest in a slow cooker and make the stock in that while you are away. ~Elise

I'd like to suggest that you investigate using a pressure cooker. Your leftover bones method, using a pressure cooker, gives you stock in 30 minutes rather than 4 hours. It is a great device for any moist heat recipe such as beef stew, bean soups, etc. Lets you make whole grains--brown rice, wheatberries, etc. in a much shorter period of time. Risottos--are perfect, with no stirring, in a third of the time. If you like risotto, it's worth buying a cooker for that reason alone. You'd think I work for a pressure-cooker company, but I don't. I have two of the Kuhn-Rikon models, and these tools allow me to pull together scratch meals in a fraction of the time--the Lorna Sass book, Cooking Under Pressure, is a great resource.

Pressure cookers are great when you're in a hurry. We use ours all the time for cooking pinto beans or black beans. When it comes to stock, we are usually filling up a pot more with bones than our pressure cooker can hold, and stock cooking lends itself well to low, gentle heat, a bare simmer, which is easier to control if it is on the stove and you can check it easily. ~Elise

Good Morning Elise,

Kathy above in the comments had told about purchasing Split Chicken Breasts and deboning them herself, I always do that believe it or not you can actually get the split breasts on sale for as little as 99 cent/lb. and it is a win/win.
I de-bone the breast, remove the skin and put with the bones. I usually can or freeze the breast.
Then I take the bones and skin, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven until golden brown (as described under the beef stock recipe) Then take that and place in the stock pot with water to cover, and proceed as you discribed adding vegetable and simmering for a long long time.

I also, will add here, that there used to be a French Woman on TV, that said to Always save your Brown Onion Skins, in an airtight container, then when you have a rather anemic looking broth, you just cook a hand full of the onion skins in the broth, and you come out with a beautiful amber colored stock, she was right and have done this for the last 15 years.
Your site is wonderful, I just love it.
Mitchell

A word of caution for making chicken stock.
When transfering hot chicken stock to containers, plastic or otherwise, be careful that it doesnt get splashed on the floor or on the outside of containers.
CHICKEN STOCK CAN BE SLIPPERY and result in a wipe out in the kitchen.
I once was carrying a big container of it and it slipped right out of my hands and all over the floor...
Same as when it is in the fridge, it can slip right out of your hands and make a huge mess in the fridge.
When wiping using a cloth, make sure you do not use it again, as trace fatty deposits can be transfered and create a disaster.

You can be more frugal with the vegetables by saving and using your vegetable trimmings, parings and peelings. For example use the tops, banged up outer stalks and ends of celery, the peels, papery skins and first layer but not the root end of onions, the carrot peels, ends and all as well as any vegetables that start to go floppy but not spoiled entirely. These are adding flavor and their texture will not be an issue so you do want to use them in your stock. You can even use onions that have started to sprout as long as you take out all the green bits. Oh, the onion skins add a lovely golden color to the stock.

I always end up with more parsley than I can use, so into the bag it goes as well. Collect them them in bags in the freezer as the months go by. In another bag, save up your chicken parts and bones and in yet another your beef trimmings and bones. Ask at the meat counter or butcher's for their trimmings and ends and bones. Everything goes directly into the freezer bags after a good rinse or scrubbing.

Then you pick a good day to hang around the house and get going.

On that note, has anyone tried using a crock pot for the long slow cooking process? Is the heat low enough and constant enough for successfull stock making? It seems to me that it ought to be a good way to get a low, slow, constant heat without heating up the whole kitchen. I'm a little leary of deviating from success but, the thought of making stock during the summer months, rather than waiting for fall and cool weather plus the safety and efficiency factor of not having the range burning all day long is really appealing to me.

A tip for method 1...to really get the most flavor out of the chicken bones, try soaking them in cold water overnight. Then, put that water and the bones into the pot to use as part the stock.