Chicken Stock

By Samin Nosrat

Chicken Stock
Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Total Time
7 to 9 hours
Rating
5(1,266)
Comments
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This recipe for an intense, lovely chicken stock is full of deep flavors and provides a perfect base for soup. Feel free to use leftover bones from roast chicken, but at least half of the bones should be raw. Ask your butcher for feet, heads and wings, which are all high in gelatin and will lend body to the stock. Once cooled, freeze the stock in old 32-ounce yogurt containers, which have the added benefit of being premeasured.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 6 quarts
  • 4pounds raw chicken bones
  • 6quarts water
  • 2onions, unpeeled, quartered
  • 2carrots, peeled and halved crosswise
  • 2celery stalks, halved crosswise
  • 1teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 2bay leaves
  • 4thyme sprigs
  • 5parsley sprigs (or 10 stems)
  • 1tablespoon white-wine vinegar
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (50 servings)

2 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 0 grams protein; 6 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put everything but the vinegar in a large stockpot. Bring the stock to a boil over high heat, then turn down to a simmer.

  2. Step 2

    Skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Add the vinegar. (It helps draw out nutrients and minerals from the bones into the stock.)

  3. Step 3

    Simmer the stock for 6 to 8 hours, covered, keeping an eye on it to make sure it stays at a simmer.

  4. Step 4

    Strain the stock through a fine-meshed sieve. Let cool.

  5. Step 5

    Scrape the fat that rises to the top. (Save it in the fridge or freezer for matzoh ball soup.) Refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,266 user ratings
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Comments

Shelly

Start by bringing ONLY the chicken bones to a slow boil first... then skim the foam... add the remaining ingredients... bring back to boil... then simmer. I never understand why recipes don't say this. Getting all the scum off the top is way easier without all the veggies and seasoning floating around.

Carl

I make chicken stock in very large batches, reduce to a syrupy consistency (by a factor of 15 or so), freeze it in ice cube trays and transfer the cubes to a gallon zip lock bag in the freezer. This allows you to make the stock in bulk and store tons of it easily. This is especially helpful if you can convince a butcher to save bones for you - you can usually buy tons of them for next to nothing. When you use the cubes, you just add them to hot water. 1 cube makes about 2 cups.

Nora

Please listen to me it will make your chicken stock sublime with one small addition. Halve a large head of garlic and add to the other ingredients. It will transform your stock without overwhelming. So simple and with amazing results.

Lynn

I use the carcass of Costco roastiseri chicken. Add an onion (halved), couple carrots (cut in 1 in chunks and halved if they are big), 3 celery stalks, a knob of ginger (sliced 1mm thick), salt

Philip

Thanks for all the great tips. My starting point was a Costco rotisserie chicken to make the White Chicken Chili (wonderful!). The remains of the carcass is a great foundation for stock. Making it in an Instantpot at 60 minutes on the soup setting at high pressure was simplicity itself and the soup bag suggestion made straining the hot stock a non-issue. The bag went straight into the compost. The only thing left for the trash was Costco’s packaging. Great recipe and guidance from my fellow cooks.

Robin

The recipe states a yield of 6 quarts. There is no way this is correct. Simmering a stock made with 6 quarts of water for the time stated will yield significantly less than that. I made this today and simmered for 5 hours. I got a yield of about 6 cups.

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