Chicken Stock

A homemade chicken stock can really make a difference in the depth of flavour to a recipe. Not only that, there are massive health benefits as you extract valuable nutrients from the chicken bones by slowly boiling them in a broth with a mix of herbs and vegetables.

Prep Time5

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 35

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: British

Keyword: Chicken, Chicken Stock, Stock

Servings:

Calories: 8kcal

Equipment

large casserole dish

Ingredients

1 chicken carcass meat removed
1 carrot include carrot peelings
2 sticks of celery
1 large onion
2 dried bay leaves
1 tsp sea salt
10 peppercorns
1 bunch herbs parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme work well

Instructions

Taking your large casserole dish, large enough to hold the chicken carcass, add in all your roughly chopped vegetables along with the chicken, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and your mix of herbs.
Pour over 2.5 litres of water and set over a high heat.
Cover and bring the pan to the boil. Cover and lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Leave for 90 mins until your stock is cooked.
Place a colander or large sieve over a big bowl and strain your stock. I'm not particular about getting a totally clear stock, but if you are then simply strain again through a fine sieve.
Your stock is now ready to use.

Notes

You want to avoid any vegetables that will make your stock cloudy (ie. potatoes, squash or pumpkin), those that will make the stock bitter (ie. Brussel sprouts, cabbage, or leafy greens), and anything that might heavily discolour the stock (ie. beetroots). It really is best to stick to the core three - onion, carrot and celery.
This stock recipe makes just over 2 litres of stock. I normally portion it into 500ml plastic containers (leftover Chinese takeaway tubs are perfect) and pop in the freezer ready for another day.
You can use any mix of herbs you have to hand. If you only have parsley, it's not a problem. But the more the merrier!