Basic Chicken Stock Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the 3 basic ingredients that make up a stock? ›

Basic Ingredients. Stocks are prepared with a few basic ingredients including bones, mirepoix, herbs and spices, and sometimes tomatoes or wine. They are often prepared using leftover ingredients as a cost-effective measure for the kitchen.

A good rule of thumb is that for each pound to pound-and-a-half of chicken, you'll need one quart of water, or enough to just barely cover everything. Any more than that and you'll have a watery chicken stock or need to simmer it for much longer to get it flavorful enough.

The Building Blocks of Stock

A very basic white chicken stock is a pretty simple affair: It's made with water; chicken; aromatic vegetables, like onion, carrot, and garlic; and herbs.

Store Bought or Homemade Chicken Stock

The store-bought chicken stock can be too salty, so make sure to dilute with water in a ratio of 2 parts broth to 1 part water (4 cups broth: 2 cups water) as a good starting point. You can always adjust the flavor to your liking by tasting the broth.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, occasionally skimming the surface to remove foam, scum and fat, until the stock has reduced by about one third, about 3 hours. If the veggies or bones come above the water at any point, add more water to the pot.

To make homemade chicken stock, place chicken bones, vegetables, herbs and spices into a large pot. Cover with cold water then simmer for about 3 hours. Let it cool, then skim the fat. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Basics: The basic ratio I use for making stock is 4:1 1/2:1/2:1/2. That's 4 pounds of bones and meat, 1 1/2 pounds of onions, and 1/2 pounds each of carrots and celery. This ratio works for beef, chicken, turkey, ham/pork, veal, whatever the meat is and makes about 2 quarts of stock.

Stock is generally made from bones, and broth is generally made from flesh. In both cases, they are often supported with aromatic vegetables, but in the case of stock, left unseasoned for maximum flexibility in recipes, whereas broth will usually contain at least salt and pepper.

Can you simmer stock too long? ›

There's a limit to how much flavor a given ingredient will impart—past that, extra time just turns everything to mush. Big beef or lamb bones can be cooked for up to eight hours, or overnight. Chicken bones are more like four to six. Veggies give up all their flavor in about an hour.

After we've eaten the meat (or, at least most of it), I break apart the bones or cut them with shears, then stash them in a bag in the freezer so I can make stock with it later. I save the bones every single time. The process is so easy and the stock so good, you should, too.

The base of most stocks are flavorful aromatics, like onion, carrot, and celery. An easy way to punch up the lackluster flavor of boxed stocks is by adding more of those basics. An onion sliced in half, plus a few chunks of carrots and celery can go a long way in flavoring store-bought stocks.

Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.

Maggi cubes, like other bouillon cubes, are used to add flavor and seasoning to dishes. Typically, one cube is enough to season about two cups (475 ml) of water or broth.

A cup of chicken broth is 8 ounces. Sixteen ounces would be two cups.

Method 1: Chicken Stock from Leftover Roasted Chicken Bones

Cover with water. Add salt and pepper to taste, about a teaspoon of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer: Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to bring the stock to barely a simmer.

Simmer, Never Boil: Keep your stock at a simmer with gentle bubbles just breaking at its surface. You want to avoid boiling because as the bones heat they keep releasing proteins and fats. If these are boiled, they're churned back into the stock, making it cloudy and greasy.

Pour broth over chicken to cover and season generously with salt and pepper. Step 2Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium. Let simmer until chicken is cooked through (a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast should read 165°), about 10 minutes.

Avoid boiling your stock: Boiling (and even simmering) is a surefire way to emulsify fat. By keeping the temperature just below a simmer (e.g. 190ºF), you can avoid this problem while still maximizing flavor extraction.

What are the four ingredients in stock? ›

Answer: Stocks contain four essential parts: a major flavoring ingredient, liquid, aromatics, and mirepoix: The major flavoring ingredient consists of bones and trimmings for meat and fish stocks and vegetables for vegetable stock. The liquid most often used in making stock is water.

Four of them, the price-to-book (P/B) ratio, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, the price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio, and the dividend yield, are fundamental measures used in investment analysis and stock valuation. No single ratio provides a complete picture.

Stock is made by simmering bones, herbs, aromatics and regular mirepoix (a combination of onions, carrots and celery) or white mirepoix (onions, fennel, leeks and celery) in water for several hours. As they cook, the bones release gelatin which creates body and rich flavor and mouthfeel.