How to Make Chicken Stock

Chicken stock is known as Fond de Cuisine in French cooking – in other words, the foundation. The method described here is not the only way to make chicken stock.  How you chose to make chicken stock will depend upon your personal preferences as well as the intended purpose of the stock itself.  If the stock is really a soup then you’ll probably want to add additional spices and probably use roasted chicken bones instead of raw.  On the other hand, if you are going to use the stock as a general purpose stock in other cooking then you want a light stock with neutral flavors. (Such a stock is pretty bland all by itself).

Chicken Bones – Raw or Cooked?

If you read articles on the web about making chicken stock, you’ll see arguments about using raw chicken bones vs cooked bones.  You can use either.

Using Cooked Chicken Bones

Using the carcass of a roasted chicken is a great way to create stock without a lot of added expense.  After roasting the chicken, strip the meat from the carcass, put it into a ziplog bag and freeze it until you are ready to make stock.  Stocks I’ve made from roasted chicken carcasses are darker and seem more ‘chicken-y’.

Using Raw Chicken or Chicken Bones

The classic French method of making stock is to use raw chicken bones, and will result in a stock with more mouth feel.  This is because the raw bones contain more collagens. Those collagens will add a bit of gelatin to the stock. I believe that raw chicken and/or bones produces a more neutral stock and therefore makes a better base.

If you ask the butcher in your local chain supermarket for chicken bones, he will inform you that the boning out of chickens occurs at some central facility and as a result they have no chicken bones.  The solution is to buy chicken parts you would use for some other purpose.  For example, buy bone-in chicken breasts.  Let them cook in the stock until the chicken meat is done. Pull them out and strip the meat off, then put the bones back into the stock and finish it.  The stock in th e photo was made this way.

Mirepoix

Mirepoix (pronounced “meer-pwah”) is the mixture of chopped vegetables added to the stock to give it flavor and aroma.  The classic French formula for mirepoix is:

• 3 parts onion
• 2 parts carrot
• 1 part celery

The ‘parts’ are measured by volume, not weight, and are very rough measurements.  No need to measure anything.

Bouquet garni

Bouquet Garni is a buch of herbs wrapped up in cheesecloth and tied with string. The herbs are usually:

• thyme
• bay leaf
• parsley (you can use the stems)
• Peppercorns

Making the Stock

You’ll need:

• 2 Parts chicken bones or chicken parts
• 1 Part mirepoix
• 1 Garlic clove

Throw it all in the stock pot. Add enough cold water to cover everything an inch. Bring it to a boil quickly, then turn it down to a simmer, just below boiling. Let it simmer uncovered for about 2 hours.

Strain the stock to remove the chicken bones, mirepoix, and bouquet garni. My practice is to pour the strained stock into two half-gallon pitchers and leave it in the refrigerator to chill overnight. The next day I skim the fat off the top.

Storing Chicken Stock

A couple of years ago I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of ice cube trays.  I poor the stock into the trays and let it freeze.  Once frozen, I pop the cubes out of the trays and pot them in a ziplock bag in the freezer.  I know people who use flexible silicone muffin pans instead.

Since I started canning, I’ve discovered that you can pressure can chicken stock. I can the stock in pint jars.  For me this works out great because it does not take up freezer space which is at a premium here in the Fumbling Foodie household.