Chicken Stock (Bone Broth) Plus Freezer Tips and 15+ Recipe Uses!
Make Chicken Stock aka Bone Broth at home to create other tasty recipes with chicken stock, plus cooking tips and 15+ delicious recipe ideas!
Servings: 12
Calories: 24kcal
Ingredients
- 4 pounds frozen chicken bones use rotisserie chicken bones
- 1 large peeled onion cut in 4 pieces
- 6 carrots peeled and cut in ½
- 6 ribs celery cut in ½
- 12 sprigs fresh parsley with stems
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 1 small lemon
- 3 teaspoons sea salt
- 3 whole cloves peeled garlic optional
- cold water to fill over ingredients
- other assorted fresh herbs: sage or thyme optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, Dutch oven, or stockpot, place chicken bones, vegetables, herbs and spices. I use bones previously frozen right from the freezer. Lemons add a wonderful brightness to chicken stock, just squeeze in the juice and place the lemon halves right in your stockpot.
- Add water to just cover the top of the contents in the pot and within an inch of the pot rim. Turn the heat to medium high heat and cook until you begin to see bubbles and some foam will appear on the top.
- Now, turn heat down to a low simmer, you don't want it boiling. Just some steam rising, some foam, and an occasional bubble. As it cooks, the ingredients will drop down into the pot and become fully submerged. About once an hour, you can push the ingredients under the surface to get all the flavor in there!
- Simmer on low for at least 4 hours, cool about an hour on the stove, then pull out the large solids carefully with a strainer and a large bowl. Discard the solids, they have done their job! Do one final straining with a finer sieve to pull the smaller pieces out and you have now made chicken stock.
- You can chill the stock quickly by adding ice to your stock. Once cooled, store in labeled freezer-safe ziplock or freezer containers. Be sure to get your stock chilled down and either in the freezer or fridge within an hour of cooking to keep it food safe.
Video
Notes
Top Tips
- Freeze the main ingredients: Keep your chicken bones and veggie scraps like parsley, celery and onions in bags in your freezer. Once the bag is full, I start a large pot on the stove or in the slow cooker on a cold lazy weekend day. Grab a few other things and you are on your way.
- Freeze bones from rotisserie chickens, wings, and even fried chicken. You can freeze right in the plastic box they come in from the grocery store or a ziplock bag. Collect bones from cooking; raw chicken pices, leftover bones, and any bony parts all work.
- Divide the stock into frequently used portions (1 cup, 2 cups, or 1 quart) for easy usage. Label your containers or bags first, measure the stock into frequently used portions (1 cup, 2 cups, or 1 quart) and fill your containers or zip lock bags.
- Lay filled ziptop bags on a cookie tray and freeze flat for easy storage.
- Take a spoon and do a taste test of your fresh batch of chicken stock before packing it up. You can adjust the salt a little bit if you need to.
- Toss lemons in, just squeeze in the juice and place the lemon halves right in your large pot. Trust me on this tip the lemons add a fresh brightness and extra flavor to your amber color stock...
PRO TIP: Pour chicken stock into bags, freeze flat on cookie sheets to store easier in the freezer! Freeze in ice cube trays, then pop into zip-top bags. Toss into sauce recipes, quick delicious soups, chicken dishes, rice, and many other uses. These are great ways to use homemade chicken stock:
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chili
- Rice ~ you will be amazed at the flavor rather than just using water!
- Risotto
- Alfredo Sauce
- Marinara Sauce
- Curry
- Gravy
- Stuffing
- Chicken Pot Pies
Nutrition
Serving: 10g | Calories: 24kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 620mg | Potassium: 189mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 5275IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg