Chicken Stock: The Ultimate Secret Ingredient

It’s true.  When friends need a meal delivered, I usually make a big pot of soup, and they always rave about it.  The truth is, there’s nothing unusual about it at all, except that I made it with homemade stock. 

But, to be honest, I started making homemade stock because I hate paying $2 a carton for slightly flavored pale yellow liquid that tastes faintly of chicken.  Now, I make it regularly because 1) it’s easy, 2) it’s delicious and 3) it’s cheap—we already ate that chicken, but there’s still more there to use!!

A regular chicken should yield at least 1 quart of pretty flavorful stock, worth at least $3, easily more depending on our preferred brand.  And if anyone isn’t feeling well, this stuff is both soothing and nutritious.  It’s like Pedia-lite but better. 

NERD MOMENT: A little culinary vocab—technically, “stock” is made primarily from bones, and “broth” contains more meat/seasonings.  Stock is thin and unexciting by itself.  The whole point of stock is that you are leeching all the healthy goodness out of the bones and into the liquid.  Some of that goodness is gelatin, and so your stock will become Jello-ish when it cools.  This is how they made gelatin in the olden days (not kidding. Yes, it was savory).  This means that technically, what we’re doing is broth.  

1. Choose a venue: you can do this on the stovetop or in a slow-cooker.  I usually opt for the slow cooker because you can leave it unattended and cook it overnight.  

2. Execute: Put your scraps (fresh or frozen) in the slow cooker.  Add water so it’s full to about an inch from the top.  Slow cook on low.  That’s it! 

Some pointers: 

-I usually start this in the evening and come back to it either the next morning or the next evening, depending on when I have time.  When I walk by, I make sure it’s topped off with water. 

-You can even do 2 rounds—ladle some liquid out 24 hours in, and add more water.  Your later batch(es) will be thinner, but that’s ok.  You can use that, too.  

-Your chicken bones are used up when they break at your touch.  Once you reach that point, you’ve maximized your chicken, and it’s time to stop. 

-Some people don’t use the skin in this process.  I do.  I like the fatty texture and flavor it adds.  Plus I hate wasting… 

-If you want to concentrate the stock more before you use it or freeze it, put it in a pot and reduce it by 1/3 on your stove top.  (That means “simmer it with no lid so that 1/3 of the liquid evaporates.)  Taste it again.  Repeat as needed. 

-I freeze my stock in 3 inch rectangles. Why? Because that’s kinda how much I need to throw into a dish, but also because I can unmold them, and put 4 in a Ziplock, and stack them kinda orderly in the freezer.  Totally worth the investment (no need for more than 4-5 containers). 

-From a food safety standpoint, you need to make sure you get that stock from simmering to cold or frozen FAST—another reason for the slow cooker and the small cubes.

Well, look at you go.  You roasted a chicken, you ate it 3 or 4 times in a week, and then you made stock.  What are you going to do with your stock?  Make soup! See next post.