Zero-Waste Homemade Chicken Stock/Broth

Below you will find a recipe for making super-flavorful chicken stock/broth using a whole chicken and some pantry staples. In addition to the beautiful stock, the method will leave you with a mass of perfectly cooked chicken to use as you please in salads, soups, casseroles, and more.

Making stock is as simple as throwing chicken — whole, pieces, or bones — into a pot, covering it with water, and letting it simmer for a few hours. Vegetables and aromatics such as onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, and peppercorns add depth of flavor but they are not essential — if you don’t have them, don’t go running out to buy them.

The method outlined below is one I learned from the chef I worked for at Fork: place a whole chicken in a large pot, cover it with cold water, bring it to a simmer, then turn off the heat. One hour later, pull the meat from the carcass, then return the carcass to the pot to simmer with vegetables and aromatics for several hours or until you’ve produced a rich, flavorful broth.

I love this method for making stock because nothing is wasted: the chicken emerges from the pot plump and moist, pulling easily away from the bone, perfect for chicken salad, enchiladas, or soup; the carcass emerges completely spent, all of its goodness released into the glistening, golden broth.

How to Make Chicken Stock, Step by Step

First, place a whole chicken in a large pot:

Cover it with 4 quarts of water and place it on the stovetop:

Bring it to a simmer… and simmer for 5 minutes for larger birds…

… then immediately turn off the heat and cover the pot.

One hour later, uncover the pot:

And transfer the chicken to a large bowl to cool briefly:

When cool enough to handle, break apart the chicken as you wish, placing the skin in one bowl, the bones back into the pot of water, and the meat in the large bowl.

Transfer the meat to a storage container and reserve for another purpose:

To the pot of water with the bones, add one chopped-up onion (no need to peel), one unpeeled chopped carrot, 4 to 5 celery stalks roughly chopped, a bay leaf, salt, and a few whole peppercorns:

Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat so that the stock is gently simmering:

After 2-3 hours or when the stock has reduced considerably and tastes rich and flavorful, turn off the heat:

Pour the contents into a strainer set over a bowl:

Then transfer the stock to storage vessels. I love these Weck Jars:

These quart containers are also great for freezing stock, soups, stews, etc.

The sign of a beautiful stock: a gelatinous texture once completely cooled/chilled in the fridge.

Print