Part of the beauty of making stock is precision isn't really required, meaning, you don't really need to follow a recipe, but rather use it as a guide. But if you're the type who thrives of following recipes step-by-step, the recipe below is one you'll come back to time and again.
Course Soup
Cuisine American, French
Keyword chicken stock
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 2 hourshours
Total Time 2 hourshours10 minutesminutes
Servings 10cups
Calories 30kcal
Ingredients
Carcass from a 5-6 pound roasted chicken, or bones from 2 bone-in chicken breasts, 2 bone-in chicken thighs, and 2 chicken wings
4carrots, unpeeled and cut into halves
2ribs celery, cut in half
1yellow onion, cut into quarters
1head of garlic, unpeeled and cut in half crosswise
1parsnip, unpeeled and cut into 3-inch chunks
1bunch of fresh Italian parsley
6-10sprigs of fresh thyme
6-10whole black peppercorns
2-3bay leaves
2chicken bouillon cubes
1-2tablespoonskosher salt
Instructions
Add the chicken carcass or bones, carrots, celery, onion, garlic halves and parsnip to a large stockpot. Add cold water, covering the chicken and veggies by at least 1-2 inches—about 12-16 cups of water. Add a handful of the parsley (with leaves and stems intact), thyme sprigs, peppercorns, bay leaves, chicken bouillon cubes and kosher salt.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a lightly rolling simmer and cook partly covered for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until the stock is amber brown and tastes well flavored. Add more salt to taste if necessary.
Turn off the heat and allow the stock to cool or if using immediately, place a large colander over a Pyrex 4 cup glass measuring cup and slowly drain the stock from the rest of the aromatics so the colander catches any veggies or bones that may fall from the pot. Then, use a fine-mesh strainer to strain the stock into your next recipe's soup stockpot. Or, if storing to use later, strain into 1 quart wide-mouth glass canning jars and cool before adding a tight fitting lid. Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze in gallon bags for up to 6 months.
Hot to Cook Chicken Stock in the Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker
Place all of the ingredients in the insert of a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot and add enough water to cover the veggies and bones by 1-2 inches. Select High Pressure or Soup and set the timer for 30 minutes When the timer sounds, use a Natural Pressure release, allow the valve to drop and carefully remove the lid. Continue with the directions for the stove top method.
How to Cook Chicken Stock in the Slow Cooker
Place all of the ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker and fill with water until it is 2" below the top. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours. Continue with the directions for the stove top method.