How to Make Chicken Stock

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Have you ever wondered what most bases in soups are? Many restaurants and Chef’s perfect their soups and sauces with a broth like substance known as a stock. A stock is a liquid reduction of a particular substance. It can be veggie, beef, veal, chicken, and pork. The possibilities are endless! Today I want to share with you my recipe for how to make Chicken Stock.

What You will need to make this quick and easy chicken stock

One of the items you will need is a stock pot. The reason it is called a stock pot is for the same thing it’s used for.

To make stock!

These pots will range in size anywhere from 10-quarts to 24-quarts to commercial grade 36-quart and higher! Many times when making stock in a restaurant kitchen we make it in bulk for storage. In one restaurant I worked we used a I’m guessing 50-quart skillet to make stocks! this thing was awesome! it even had a crank to tilt and strain it.

Making this “Quick and Easy”

I suppose you can’t call this “quick and easy”. In comparison to making it over night, this is extremely quick and easy. This recipe will have you some great chicken stock in as little as 6-hours. I will make this the night prior to cooking whatever it is that calls for stock. cooling stock overnight helps form the gelatin look from the collagen.

Collagen is made from reducing water with bones. This process gives soups some body and texture vs. just using watery broth. That is why chef’s prefer using stocks for soups and sauces.

What You will need

I used a rotisserie chicken from Walmart, you could also make a roasted chicken but that is a little more spendy. A rotisserie chicken from the store is cheap and you don’t have to spend time making it yourself. Try to find one that looks a little more roasted than the others. This one will work great!

For The Veggie and aromatics I like to reference my two books that go into depth with stocks. The first book is The Professional Chef, this book is a little more knowledgeable for beginners. The Professional Chef also has a lot of pictures for people who don’t like to read instructions or steps. Another thing I like about this book is that it shares “methods-at-a-glance” which are really helpful for quick rundowns on recipes! Starting on pg. 255 you can see the basic formulas for different stocks and fish fumet.

For The Quick and Easy Chicken Stock:

1 Whole Rotisserie Chicken
6 Quarts Water
2 Carrots (shaved and rough chopped)
1 yellow onion (Rough chop)
3 Ribs Celery (Rough chop)
2 Sprigs Rosemary
1 Sprig Thyme
3 cloves Garlic (smashed)

Time needed: 6 hours

Chicken Stock

Combine Chicken and water
Fill the stock pot with water 2-inch’s above the top of the chicken. bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours. Skim the frothiness throughout simmering process and discard to create a clear stock.
add veggies and aromatics
return to a roaring boil, add carrots, celery, onions. add aromatics last (thyme, and rosemary). reduce heat and simmer for 1 more hour.
Strain
Using a sleeve or chinois strain the liquid, and pour back into stock pot. discard of
(Note: I used a colander to strain larger bits and veggies out of stock. I then used a cheese clothe after straining with the colander to get rid of the little pieces.)
Return to boil
Return to roaring boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours or until stock is gelatinous.
Store (optional)
Cool and store your stock in an air-tight container over night.