First time making chicken stock

[PureBlackVoid]

I’m roasting a chicken tonight, and want to finally make some chicken stock.

Had a look at a few websites but thought I’d rather get some real recipes and tips, instead of scrolling through ad-littered recipe sites.

First stupid question - the websites say e.g 1kg carcass. Is that 1kg worth of bones, or from a 1kg chicken (I’ve never actually weighed the bones so I don’t know how much of a whole chicken weight is actually the bone).

Celery - is it necessary? It’s not part of my regular shop, only if I specifically plan on making a meal with celery that week.

Do you add raw veg/scraps only or can cooked veg left overs go in? I usually roast or pan fry all veg instead of boiling, if that makes a difference.

Can any veg go in it? Is there anything you wouldn’t put in?

Any other tips or mistakes to avoid appreciated

I just use whatever bones I have- have never weighed them. I put celery in if I have it and I think it does make it better but you can make a decent stock without it. I add onions and carrots, bay leaves, head of garlic maybe, peppercorns. Don't let it boil.

Once you've strained it, you can then boil to get the concentration of flavour you want. Don't add salt until the end.

I just break up the carcass a bit. Put it in a large pan and cover with water. I put in a few veg depending on what I've got. Onions, carrots, celery etc. Bring to the boil and simmer for an hour or so. Strain and cool. Makes great soup.

Strip all the remaining meat off the bones to use in sandwiches, pasta sauce etc.

Take all the bits you won't eat - bones skin etc, put in a large saucepan. Add an onion, cut in half, I add a chopped celery stick and some pepper. Maybe a chopped carrot
Cover with hot water and simmer with a lid on. After an hour, strain into a bowl.

Overnight (or a few hours) on low in a slow cooker 😉 with whatever spare veg I have in the fridge (good use for bendy carrots) - celery definitely adds to the flavour but isn’t essential. If I have some dregs of wine, red or white, they go in too, as does any leftover stuffing! Use a masher to mash the bones into the stock after a few hours. Strain and allow to stand. Skim off fat etc. If not using straightaway, I freeze it. This method makes a lovely “sticky” stock that’s brilliant in a whole host of recipes - from soups to risottos! (Apologies if you don’t have a slow cooker.)

Yes you just use the carcase of one roast chicken whatever you have left, the weight isn't critical.

The most important thing is to strain it into a second pan an not to accidentally pour your stock down the sink.

Simplicity is key - otherwise it becomes a chore.

Chicken in the biggest pan you have (or slow cooker). Add whatever you have available from onions (I just chop one in half), carrots (I don't bother peeling), celery, leeks (I usually save the tops of the leeks from when I chop them and bung those in). I also add some peppercorns (whole) and definitely a bay leaf or 3.

Fill the pan up with boiling water, bring to the boil, cover, simmer for at least a hour. Let it stand (ideally overnight) before you strain it.

I freeze it in c250ml batches (I don't measure it, but that's roughly how much fits in a takeaway container!)

I buy celery and break it up and freeze it to use in stock and soups as we rarely eat it otherwise. It's very easy to make stock.

I like to put a whole onion in with the skin on as that gives it a nice colour.

I'm not sure a standard supermarket chicken carcass gives enough oomph so I usually freeze it till I've got another chicken carcass and do 2 at once.

Just put it in enough cold water to cover, add a whole carrot/celery/bay/whole onion/peppercorns - I use raw not cooked but I might keep the cooked one from the roast to put in the soup if I'm using it to make soup.

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/leftoverroastchicken_92286

Just came to say take care when you strain it! It’s so easy to pour all the lovely stock down the sink and leave yourself with just the bones if you are not concentrating. Or maybe that’s just me.

The celery leaves add a lot of flavour, so I think it’s worth it. But I do any two of onion, celery and leek, depending what I have in. I always add carrots and a dash of vinegar (plain, not malt), and a handful of cauliflower florets (frozen ones).

Don’t add any sweet or root veg - it tastes wrong.

Then salt, peppercorns, bay leaves.

And simmer / slow cook for as long as you can.

All of the above good advice, I use slow cooker, I usually just use raw onion/carrot/bay leaf/celery if I have it. Only thing is I always start with cold water, worked in hotels over the years and always told start stock with cold water.

Personally I wouldn’t put cooked veg in as they may disintegrate and make the stock cloudy. I use peelings instead - I keep a bag of chicken bones in the freezer and add peelings to that until the bag is full enough.

However, I have often made it with no veg or herbs at all. Literally just chicken bones. Just means the stock will have more of a pure chicken flavour and will need more flavour when you come to use it. Onion is the most crucial addition probably, or you can use leek offcuts. Carrot lends a bit of sweetness. I only put celery in if I have some. Avoid anything from the cabbage/broccoli family, or potato.

Like a PP I reckon you need the bones from a carcass and some extra bones (from thighs wings etc) to make it worth it. Pork bones are good too if you have any.

The really key thing is to cook it very slowly - it should not boil but just glug away gently - and for ages and ages and ages. Top up the water when needed. You want all the goodness out of those bones.

Once strained, put it in the fridge, when it’s set you can scrape the fat off the top easily (best way is to let it soften for a couple of min and then use a rubber spatula).

FYI roughly half the weight of a chicken is the bones.

I would just break the carcass up though and not worry too much about the weight of the bones

I'm clearly different from all PPs. I make it in the microwave. Large pyrex bowl, add chicken bones (squashed, usually) just cover with water add some dried mushrooms, an old carrot broken into bits and a bay leaf. Anything else like celery or onion is optional for me. Stick in the microwave on simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. And, I agree to concentrate and make sure you don't drain all the stock into the sink by mistake🤦‍♀️. We do have a microwave with a "simmer" option, so I guess that makes it easier.

You've all forgotten vinegar. A glug of apple cider vinegar breaks down the bones better to get all the goodness out. Plus it's very healthy. I always use celery and celery salt too as it has the best balance of salts in it.

@tealandteal That happened to me one Christmas Day with my glorious turkey giblet stock 😫 Down the drain it went!

I also came on to say put the straining colander over a big bowl NOT the sink. Ask me how I know.😃

I use a pressure cooker, just bones & water usually, but leek tops & bendy carrots & celery if available. I season when I use it .
After straining, I boil it so it's concentrated & takes up less space in the freezer.

I'm quite relieved I'm not the only one who has strained stock over the sink !

Broccoli - slice the stalk into the pot. Gives a really good depth of flavour.
(And the strainer/pan thing)

Take a lot of the meat off the carcass.

Take off all skin.

Break up the carcass.

Put it into a pot of water to cover the carcass bits.

Add fresh veg - peeled carrots, roughly chopped white or yellow onion, several cloves of garlic, a few stalks of fresh rosemary or a couple of teaspoons dried, a bunch of fresh parsley, S&P.

I never use celery as I find it bitter in a stock.

If you have leftover veg throw that in too. I wouldn't add broccoli, but that's just personal preference. Green beans, yes. Peas, again no.

Simmer your stock for about 90 minutes.

If you have a blender, fish out your veggies and about a cup of liquid, whiz until smooth, and you have instant chicken and veggies soup.

Save the rest of the stock after you take out the bones and cartilage and herbs.

You've all forgotten vinegar. A glug of apple cider vinegar breaks down the bones better

Oh I had forgotten this. Thank you ! Need more uses for that massive bottle of ACV I bought 😆

Thanks everyone, so many helpful tips!

I’ve seen the straining down the sink mentioned on those ‘silly mistakes you’ve made’ type threads so I already had that in the back of my mind😁