How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock
I always have stock on hand. Stock will allow you to make flavorful sauces with a rich mouthfeel. It is useful when deglazing a sautéed dish, cooking rice, and making soups or stews. I keep some of the 1 qt box containers of low sodium stock in my cupboard and those stocks work well, but I prefer homemade stock. It has a better flavor and mouthfeel than the store-bought stock and can be made from trimmings and bones that you would otherwise throw away.
What makes stock special is the collagen that is extracted into the water from bones. Collagen will thicken as you reduce stock and it gives you the ability to create a rich, velvety mouthfeel in your sauces, reminiscent of what you would find in a restaurant.
This recipe for homemade stock is an adaptation of the classic French technique. In fact, most of the techniques that I will share with you are based on classic French cuisine. Those methods are tried and true and have withstood the test of time. To truly be an expert, I highly recommend taking the time to learn the French Classics.
However for the home cook, some of the classic French techniques are simply impractical. I would imagine that you are not likely to have veal bones on hand to make brown stock (although I do recommend ordering some online and learning how). This stock recipe is more practical and will still have the same thickening property as classic French stocks.
There are three components to stock: bones, aromatics, and herbs.
Bones
Animal bones and cartilage contain collagen which can be extracted from the bones via cooking in water at a low temperature for an extended period of time. Collagen breaks down into gelatin and is what gives stocks their silky mouthfeel. A well-made stock should thicken quite a bit when cold. Classic stocks use one type of bone to make a stock: veal bones for brown stock, chicken bones for chicken stock, and pork bones for pork stock. Most home cooks will not have a surplus of all these types of bones, but a good tip is to save any chicken and pork bones (uncooked or cooked) and store them in a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag until the bag is full. Then make a basic white stock with them.
Aromatic Vegetables
Aromatics are vegetables that deliver a deep and complex flavor and aroma when heated. The standard for aromatics is a mirepoix which is 2:1:1 ratio of onion, celery, and carrot. However, to make a homemade stock you can use other vegetables that you have on hand. I use stock making as a way to use up produce that is getting older that I may not use.
Veggies to use for mirepoix: Onion, Shallot, Garlic, Carrot, Parsnip, Celery, Mushrooms, Tomato, Leeks
Veggies to avoid for mirepoix: Potato, Spinach, Lettuce, Peppers, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Green Beans, Eggplant, Brussels Sprouts, Squash
Herbs
The third component of stocks are herbs. These are added in the final 45–60 minutes of the stock and will add additional flavor and depth. The classic recipe calls for a bouquet garnis which is celery leaves, parsley, bay leaves, and thyme tied together with butcher twine. The purpose of the twine is so that the chef may remove the bouquet when they feel the stock has been adequately seasoned with the herbs. For our purposes, we can simply add direct to the stock in the last 45 minutes of cooking without the twine, and strain it out at the end with the aromatics.
A Standard bouquet garnis is: 2 celery leaves, 3-4 parsley stems, 1 sprig thyme, 1 bay leaf. You can substitute these herbs with fresh rosemary, oregano, or marjoram. You can even pick the herbs and just use the stems for stocks. They will freeze as well. Be sure to save herbs separately from mirepoix vegetables because they will be added to the stock at a different time. If you do not have any fresh herbs on hand, you can still make stock and use 1 tsp of any of the dry herbs previously mentioned.
The recipe is quite simple. Put the stored bones (frozen or not) in a 2-gallon stock pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a very low simmer (180–185 degrees F), then set a timer for 4 hours. Cook for 2 hours, skimming any fat or foam that rises to the top. Add the aromatics (roughly 12 wt oz, but more or less will be fine). When there is 45 minutes left, add your herbs and a tsp of cracked whole black peppercorns (crack with the side of a knife or a meat mallet). At the end of the 4 hours, strain the stock through a strainer and then again through a pasta screen, chinois, or cheese cloth. (I like to store stock in the 32 oz plastic deli cups that you get from Chinese takeout.) Cool them in an ice bath and store refrigerated for 7 days or frozen for 6 months.
For further detail and a printable recipe go to the article on the site here.
Let us know how it comes out in the comments below!
Recipe
Simple White Stock
Ingredients
Yields 3 quarts
2-3 lb bones/ trim from chicken, pork, or veal
12 wt oz Aromatic Vegetables, 1/2 inch dice (onion, celery, carrot)
4 qt water
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp whole black pepper
2 each bay leaf
Method
1. Rinse bones with cold water and place in a stock pot with cold water so the bones are covered by two inches of water.
2. Bring to a boil and then rinse the bones and refill with cold water (this will help remove impurities).
3. Bring to a low simmer and maintain it throughout the cooking process (180–185F) for 4 hours. The bubbles should break the surface of the stock infrequently. The French use the term “fremir” which means, “to tremble” to describe how the bubbles should look.
4. Skim often to remove the foam that forms on top of the water. This is protein that has been heated and denatured, called “scum.” Removing it will result in a clear stock with no impurities that can spoil or sour it.
5. Add vegetables when there is 2 hours of cooking left.
6. Add thyme, black pepper, and bay leaves when there is 45 minutes left.
7. Strain and then cool in an ice bath. Once cool, skim any film off the top of the stock.