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In a recent conversation with a friend, I casually mentioned the bag of bones in my freezer. She was horrified: “You have WHAT in your freezer??”
Listen: I’m an unconventional gal, but I’m guessing that by the end of this article you’ll at least consider keeping a bag of bones around, too.
When I buy a whole or roasted chicken at the supermarket, I do not throw away the carcass. I put it in a zip-top bag in my freezer. When I have collected 3-4 carcasses, I make homemade chicken stock. Now, store-bought chicken stock is not particularly expensive or difficult to find, so you might be wondering why I choose to make my own. Let me break it down for you:
- Control: When you make your own chicken stock, you have control over each and every ingredient that goes into it. While shelf stable stocks are fairly clean, they more often than not contain small amounts of MSG and/or preservatives. The stock that you make in your own kitchen will need to be refrigerated, but can be tailored to your flavor and ingredient preferences.
- Health benefits: Making chicken stock from fresh herbs, vegetables, and leftover bones and carcasses results in a wholesome broth that is rich in collagen, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. These nutrients promote strong bones, healthy skin, and a happy gut. This is a kitchen staple that you can feel really good about making, especially when it can be used in so many recipes.
- Alchemy: Who doesn’t love transforming something that most people throw in the trash into liquid gold? That’s exactly what you are doing when you make your own chicken stock.
My Chicken Stock Recipe
SoupLovingNicole
A good rule of thumb to follow is that for each pound of chicken bones and bits, you need one quart of water. For this reason, I like to have at least 4 pounds of bones to start out with so that I have enough to stock my freezer. I offer this information so that you can easily scale the recipe below to fit your particular needs.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken bones and bits
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 gallon water
- 2 onions, quartered
- 4 carrots, halved
- 6 stalks celery, halved
- 1 bouquet of herbs
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
Recipe Tips
- As far as which bones and bits to choose, I tend to keep almost anything left from a carcass, including skin. I especially love adding the wings to the pot, because they tend to have a lot of cartilage, which means a lot of collagen.
- For a standard stock, use parsley and thyme: about 4-6 sprigs of each, leaves and stems included. I will often add rosemary, but that is a matter of personal preference, as rosemary can be pretty strong. I also tend to not add garlic, as it can also overtake the flavor profile. Also, I do not add salt to my stock. This is purely because I like to control the amount of salt that goes into each particular recipe.
- Be sure to let your stock cool to room temperature before freezing or refrigerating. Remember that liquids expand when frozen, so leave about an inch of room at the top of your container. Stock will keep for 3 weeks in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer.
How to Make Store-Bought Chicken Stock Taste Homemade
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