The Ultimate Guide To Making Amazing Chicken Stock

Quick note for the brown stock guys: I mentioned peeling the onions, don't peel them, because I didn't, and I never do. I don't know why I said that. Anyway, love you all.

If you are a college student and eat rotisserie chicken because its cheap and you can't cook. Use the bones and leftovers for chicken stock so you can have gourmet instant ramen. bone apple teeth.

For me, the whole point of homemade stock is using leftovers. The ends of carrots and celery, the skins from onions and garlic, the stems of mushrooms, the bones from a previously cooked chicken. I know it isn't gourmet but I feel good about reducing food waste. It comes out a little different every time but it tastes good.

I really like that old pot, it has so much character.

You keep that pot. If you like it and you’re comfortable using it, then that gives it life.

Quick tip to reduce waste and lower cost - if you save onion and pepper scraps, garlic nubbies, herb stems, tomato buttons and ends, celery ends, etc...toss them in a gallon freezer bag, and when it's full, it's time to make stock. Also shop your local market "scratch and dent/quick sale" produce, and you may find tomatillos, bell peppers, or even hot chiles for next to nothing. Jalapenos and serranos will bind the capsaicin to the fat that floats up, and not make your stock spicy. I also like to rest my stock for 2-3 days in the fridge before I process it. We also live in Amish country, and they sell chickens for stock (they are too lean and tough to eat).

For those who want to get more flavor out of their chicken meat/bones just add about a tablespoon of vinegar. Also, breaking the bones allows for you to take more of the flavor from the marrow. Peeling the carrots will also allow for not only more flavor to be added to the stock, but will also help to give your stock a nice golden color.

I had to come back and say that because of this video, I made about 20 cups of stock this week and my freezer is stocked with stock. I'm so happy!

Once you've made your own stock, two things will happen; 1) you'll never see store bought stock as 'chicken stock' again and 2) your home cooking will be elevated to a whole new level. Thanks for the vid. I picked up a couple of new things which is always good. Old dogs and new tricks kinda thing.

This chicken looks nice and plump. Here in Germany I always buy old and out of duty laying hens (organic and animal friendly) for chicken stock. They are sold as so called "soup or stock chicken" together with some chicken necks and backbones. Not much meat on those. The old birds give the strongest Umami.

Hey Joshua, I’ve been cooking professionally for almost 12 years now. Was just going to add (we do this at my restaurant) we roast our bones on sheet trays with no tin foil, then deglaze the pan with typically Madeira or Marsala and scrape the fond up, thus adding it into our stocks, which we let’s simmer overnight at 175-185 degrees. The smell opening up in the morning is unreal. Anyways thanks, really been enjoying the videos. I see myself in your cooking style ha. Cheers.

To the well-loved pot haters: 1) that is a quality pot. Only a lunatic would discard it for the marks of loving use it bears; 2) one of the basic foundations of a great kitchen is a frugal chef. 🤗

Please consider to put the vegetables you’re going to use for the stock on the tray with the chicken as it goes into the oven. Then boil and simmer with the roasted vegetables alongside the chicken; it’s a lot more flavorful this way and It costs nothing since the oven is already going to roast the chicken anyway. For best results, put the vegetables by themselves in a tray just under the broiler. Give them a good run there, if something burns It’s fine, It’s all flavor. Your videos are cool, you keep them coming

Two tips, 1. Always remove the wishbone before trying to take the breast off, you'll get a better yield, and its quite a bit easier actually. 2. For faster, better, clearer, cleaner tasting stock... make it in the pressure cooker. One hour in the pressure cooker extracts more gelatin, than you can get cooking a stock for 24 hours on the stove top. Added bonus it produces almost consome clear stock.

Just a tip. Make sure to peel/clean your carrots. The dirty carrots will leave your stock with a really strong earthy mud taste because of the long cook time.

I bought a whole chicken with the intention of learning to break it down and making stock with the carcass and using the meat for my weeknight meals. I thought would have to go find a video on how to break down a chicken but you included it in this! Thankyou for that!!! It was actually PERFECT and VERY helpful.

I love that your pot is well used and well loved ♥️ People have forgotten that quality cookware can last a lifetime or two🤦🏾‍♀️

Not a single person in the comments call you out on flipping the bird at us...I guess they're too chicken

I just tried it, turns out i didn't have any idea what "low simmer" means and turned out boiling them for 2 hours lol. Now my stock is as cloudy as british weather.

Have been making my own Chick Stock for 40 or so years. Yeah . .I'm that old. Your process and techniques are classic. One quibble: I've found that 1.5 to 2 hours of gentle simmering is enough. Beyond that, the taste/clarity returns, for me at least, aren't much noticed. I strain twice: once with a coarse strainer and then again with a fancy Chinoise. As you said, keep the heat low . . just a gentle simmer with a few bubbles rising. A more aggressive simmer causes the protein to break down and so muddy the stock, that no amount of straining will yield a clear product. Keep up the outstanding work. You are doing God's work. Him? . . I've heard he became a passionate home cook after the lousy supper they served him on Friday.