From soups and stews to braises, homemade chicken stock produces rich, flavorful results far superior to anything you will find in a can or a box.
A friend of mine from college has a place in the Hamptons and invited me out a couple of times to soak up some Long Island summer. Although I lived on the East Coast at the time, I had never been and only knew what I saw on the pages of my dentist’s People Magazine – lots of money, lots of celebrities – actors, models, rockstars… I was just hoping to spot Ina Garten.
If you don’t know Ina, allow me to introduce you. Ina Garten, also known as the Barefoot Contessa, taught me how to cook. Between watching her show on Food Network and cooking my way through a number of her books, my first and favorite being Barefoot in Paris, I discovered how much I love cooking and entertaining. My husband never complained about coming home to French country cooking and for years, his birthday dinner included her version of beef bourguignon and chocolate orange mousse. If you are a novice cook looking to hone your skills, her books are great for really good classic food that isn’t overly complicated. I want to be her friend.
If Ina taught me anything, she taught me that ingredients matter, and that chicken stock is not a kitchen shortcut worth taking. Homemade chicken stock takes all of your favorites and makes them better. This recipe involves throwing a bunch of bone-in chicken and vegetables in a stock pot and letting it simmer for 4 hours. That’s it. You are left with 6 quarts of golden gelatinous-when-cold (that’s a good thing) chicken stock.
stock v. broth
What differentiates stock from broth is bones, mainly, although the two are often referred to and used interchangeably. Technically, broth is a liquid that meat has cooked in and is flavorful enough to sip on its own. Broth may be made from stock.
Stock is made with bones (with or without meat), vegetables and herbs. It is unseasoned or lightly seasoned making it a versatile building block in cooking. Stock adds body and richness due to the collagen from the bones. A good stock will look like Jell-O when chilled but melts back into a smooth liquid when heated.
Try substituting homemade stock for something you usually make with store bought. I bet the regulars at your dinner table will notice the difference.
Homemade Chicken Stock
From soups and stews to braises, homemade chicken stock produces rich, flavorful results far superior to anything you will find in a can or a box.
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients
- 3 5-pound roasting chickens
- 3 large yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered
- 6 carrots, unpeeled and halved
- 4 celery stalks with leaves, cut into thirds
- 4 parsnips, unpeeled and halved
- 20 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 15 sprigs fresh thyme
- 20 sprigs fresh dill
- 1 head garlic, unpeeled and cut in half crosswise
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
Instructions
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Place all ingredients in a 20-quart stockpot and add 7 quarts of water. Bring to a boil then adjust heat to maintain a low simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours.
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Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander and discard the solids. If necessary, strain again using a mesh strainer.
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Chill the stock overnight then remove the fat from the surface. Use stock immediately or portion and freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
After simmering, I strain the stock into the next biggest pot I have and sometimes need to use an additional saucepan. Then I pour it all through a mesh strainer back into the original stockpot.
For food safety purposes, the stock should not sit out at room temperature for more than a couple of hours. But if you stick this quantity of piping hot stock in your refrigerator you are likely to raise your refrigerator temperature. If you need to cool it quickly, turn your kitchen sink into a water bath. Plug the drain to the sink and set the stockpot full of hot stock in the middle. Fill the sink with ice and cold water until it reaches about halfway up the side of the pot. Stir the stock occasionally until the temperature has dropped enough to refrigerate. Transfer stock to one or more smaller pots if necessary to fit it into your refrigerator.
Once thoroughly chilled, you can remove the surface fat and then use or freeze the stock. To save for future use, I portion into freezer bags in various quantities (1 cup, 1 quart, etc.) Lay freezer bags flat on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen the bags can be rearranged to save space.
***If you have a severe gluten allergy or sensitivity or otherwise are serious about eliminating gluten from your diet, always check your labels carefully and buy certified gluten free products.
Do you ever pick the chickens over when you drain them and use the meat for anything else?
Great question and I wondered about that the first time I made this recipe as throwing out all of that meat felt wrong. I assure you, the long simmering time completely strips the chicken of its flavor and juices. You can find stock recipes that use just wings or the bones and carcasses of already roasted chickens. I have tried a couple of different recipes and so far this one is my favorite. (I recently priced wings and pound for pound they costed more than the whole chickens.) I did read something that suggested you could start the stock with whole chickens, remove them when the meat was just cooked, remove the meat for use and return the bones, skin, etc. to the pot to continue simmering. I haven’t tried that but it may be a good compromise. Let me know if you try something new!