Roasted Chicken Stock

Updated June 6, 2024

Roasted Chicken Stock
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
1 hour 10 minutes
Rating
4(366)
Comments
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One of the great joys of roasting a chicken is turning the bones into stock. This simple golden elixir, a real panacea for life’s ailments, starts with a leftover carcass from a roasted chicken, one you’ve already eaten and picked the meat off of. What you’re going for here isn’t clarity in looks or flavor, as you might with a traditional French stock. Instead, this version is deeply fortified with alliums, bay leaves, peppercorns and a touch of turmeric for earthy depth and spiced savoriness. This stock is great to cook with, but also tastes excellent sipped straight from a mug like tea.

Featured in: Chicken Soup for the Weary Soul

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Ingredients

Yield:1½ to 2 quarts
  • 1leftover carcass from a whole roasted chicken, meat picked off and saved for another use
  • 1large yellow onion
  • 1head of garlic
  • 8small or 4 large dried bay leaves
  • 1tablespoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal) or 1½ teaspoons coarse kosher salt
  • 1tablespoon whole black peppercorns
  • ¼teaspoon ground turmeric
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)

110 calories; 7 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 131 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

    To make this stock in an Instant Pot: Add the chicken carcass to a 3- or 6-quart Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker. Chop the onion into eighths, and slice the garlic head in half crosswise to expose the cloves; dump the alliums into the pot over the chicken. Crush the bay leaves and add, along with the salt, black peppercorns, and turmeric. Add enough cold water to reach the max line in the 3-quart or to cover the bones in the 6-quart (5 to 6 cups). Gently stir and cover with the lid. Pressure-cook on high for 1 hour and let the pressure release naturally.

  2. Step 2

    To make this stock on the stove: Follow Step 1, but place all of the ingredients, including the water, into a large heavy-bottomed pot, such as a Dutch oven or stock pot, and gently stir. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover and cook until the stock is deeply golden, the chicken bones are falling apart at the joints when you try to pick them up and the vegetables have turned to mush, about 3 hours.

  3. Step 3

    Strain the contents of the pot through a colander set over a large bowl; press the bones to get out all of the liquid. Taste for seasoning, adjusting with salt as desired. Ladle the stock into large mugs for sipping, or use as an ingredient in your cooking. Alternatively, you can let the strained stock cool slightly before transferring into quart containers and storing in the refrigerator.

  4. Step 4

    This chicken stock will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Heat individual portions in coffee mugs to drink in the morning for breakfast, or use as a base for soups, stews and porridges throughout the week.

Ratings

4 out of 5
366 user ratings
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Comments

For convenience I used a store-bought roast chicken and make stock every week. The quality of the stock entirely depends on the quality of the chicken. The stock made with chicken from my local grocer doesn’t hold a candle to the stock from a Whole Foods roast chicken. (Haven’t tried Costco.). I don’t have an Instant Pot so I use my crockpot on low for 12 hours. It gets every bit of goodness out of the bones. Great taste and great nutrition.

I just freeze every leftover bone, roasted or not, coming through my kitchen. Same goes for veggie scraps. This way a pressure cooker enables you to produce even small quantities of individually blended stocks in a small amount of time. I just made 0,5 litres of duck, star anise and orange stock as base for a sauce.

I love chicken noodle soup and at the age of 90 years, this is how I make it. I buy a quart of the highest priced chicken broth, add one carrot, one stalk celery, one half of a diced onion, one clove of garlic, salt and pepper. Boil together for 35 minutes, add a small amount of chicken base as needed and serve with cooked chopped angel hair. Very easy to make and enjoy.

made as recommended in the pressure cooker sans turmeric. Will still use Samin's recipe when I have time and chicken backs but this was a great weeknight option!

So delicious!! Everytime we make a roasted chicken (Alison Roman’s with tomatos and oregano is our favorite) I make this the next day. Could drink it straight!! We make it in the Dutch oven, around 4 hours total usually. We also add a lot more water (around 10 cups) to fully cover the chicken

I made this in the pressure cooker, and left the onion skins on per the advice of another commenter. Something tasted off to me... No idea what went wrong. Next time I'll try the stovetop method.

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