Homemade Chicken Bone Broth

Homemade Chicken Bone Broth is an excellent tool to keep in your kitchen. People have been making stock from bones for years. It’s rich in nutrients and has a customizable flavor for whatever you need. We love to keep this in our freezer for cooking, stretching a soup and even drinking!

I start this recipe by making a roasted chicken for dinner one night, then freeze the leftover carcass until I’m ready to make my stock.

Make sure you scrape up all of the leftover stuff after you serve the chicken. Adding in things like the roasted rosemary sprigs, charred onions and the fatty, congealed juices left in the bottom will only make this stock that much more rich and delicious!

Is chicken broth and chicken stock the same thing?

Short answer: no.

First, you can make stock from bones: chicken, beef and turkey are great examples of the bones you would use for making a stock.

Chicken broth is usually made from the leftover bits of meat. Broth is much lighter in flavor and color than stock.

Chicken stock is made of the bones and some leftover meaty parts. It has a rich brown color and flavor. Stock is most popular for drinking to help a cold or creating a rich roux, or base for soup or chili.

Both are rich in nutrients and have excellent uses for cooking.

Can I drink chicken stock?

YES! If you live in the Ohio Valley, you know seasonal allergies last all year round. Chicken stock is great for drinking to soothe a sore throat or to kick a bug that might be coming on.

How long does homemade chicken stock last?

In the fridge, you can store stock up to 5 days, or for 6 months or so in the freezer. But it has never lasted that long in our house before. We generally use it up pretty quickly.

In the freezer, I freeze in 2-cup quantities and 8-cup quantities. I use this method because those are the measurements I most frequently use when cooking. Portion out before freezing to whatever is most convenient for you.

Ingredients for Chicken Stock

It’s really a very basic recipe and method for making a good chicken stock. Make sure you have all of the ingredients below plus a large stock pot, a mesh sieve and several hours to spare.

• Bones from 1 whole chicken
• Onion, quartered
• Garlic clove (minced or whole)
• Turnip (optional)
• Celery (optional)
• Carrots (optional
• Black Peppercorns
• Water*

You will also need a large stockpot and a mesh sieve.

*The amount of water depends on how much stock you would like to yield. For perspective, I generally add 10 cups of water and end up with about 8 cups of stock by the end of the process.

How do you make a stock?

If you can drop stuff in a pot, you can make chicken stock! Put all of the ingredients in the bottom of a stockpot and add as much water needed to yield desired amount of stock.

Bring all to a rolling boil, then simmer on low-medium until the stock has reached a rich brown color. I usually simmer for about 8 hours. We like our stock rich and flavorful! You can also make Chicken Stock in the Instant Pot.

You will find that so much of your ingredients have almost dissolved at this point. Now, you will strain the stock through a mesh sieve to extract any leftover bones. After it cools, then portion into Ziploc bags for freezing or place in the fridge to use during the week.

If you need your frozen stock quickly, just drop the frozen piece in a sauce pan and warm until melted.