Low Simmer
4 – 6 hours
BackgroundIf you’re not making your own chicken stock, you should be. It’s incredibly easy to do and way less expensive than the store-bought stuff and it makes your house smell incredible! It does take a bit of time to do so this is best tackled on a Sunday afternoon. I almost always make a big pot of stock after I make a Sunday Afternoon Roast Chicken.
Make sure you check out the Tips and Tricks and Feed the Freezer sections of this recipe for some very helpful suggestions!
Recipe
- 1 Chicken Carcass, Meat Removed
- 1 Onion, Quartered
- 1 Bell Pepper, Quartered
- 2 Cloves Garlic, Peeled
- 3 Carrots, Cut into Thirds
- 3 Ribs Celery, Cut into Thirds
- 1 Tbs Whole Black Peppercorns
- About 1 Gallon Water
- Place all ingredients in a very large stock pot and bring to a boil.
- Once everything is boiling, cover and reduce heat to simmer for 3 – 4 hours. Remove the stock from the heat and allow to cool a bit.
- Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into a heat-proof pitcher and discard the bones and spent veggies.
- Chill the stock in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the fat that floats to the top, portion and store.
For a clearer stock, strain the cooled stock through 4 - 5 layers of cheese cloth.
Tips and TricksFreeze your chicken carcasses and veggies that are past their prime in large zip-top bags for use in stocks. When you’re ready to make some stock, you’ll have a stockpile of ingredients that just need a bit of water, heat and time to turn them into stock!
Feed the FreezerUse 8 oz plastic cups to freeze your stock in 1 cup ice blocks. Once it’s frozen, transfer the portions to a large freezer bag for use in all your soups and stews.
Fun FactsThe longer you simmer the stock, the more chickeney it’ll taste. A lot of chicken soup recipes don’t use chicken at all, they just use clarified chicken stock.