Homemade Chicken Stock

I knew I'd need a lot of chicken stock to make 30 SOUPS so I started with making an entire gallon of my own.

Recipe Video Here!

Chicken stock can get expensive, especially if you're trying to buy stock that is organic and free from weird ingredients like artificial flavors, preservatives, and stabilizers. I raise my own Cornish Cross Broiler chickens so I regularly make my own stock and bone broth. By the rules of "girl math" that means my stock is free.

This is a very simple way you can start any soup that calls for chicken stock and chicken meat. You can use less chicken and less water for a smaller recipe but this is a large recipe because obviously I have 30 soups to make this month. You can also continue simmering this recipe for an extra 8-12 hours with a splash of apple cider vinegar for a wonderful bone broth.

One thing I do, because I make this so often, is save scraps and skins of onions, garlic, celery, peppers, etc when I'm prepping other meals and put them in a freezer bag. Keep the bag in the freezer and, if you cook at home as much as I do, you'll have a full bag of aromatics to add to your stocks whenever you're ready!

Also, some people will tell you to skim the fat off of the top of the stock but it couldn't be me. That golden fat is where the flavor lives and it never goes anywhere when I make chicken stock. It's good for you, it's less time consuming to keep it, leave it in.

Homemade Chicken Stock

Ingredients:

• 1 (5 pound) whole chicken

• 2 gallons water

• 4 celery tops

• 1 onion, quartered w/skin

• 1 bell pepper, quartered

• 1 carrot, cut into large pieces

• 4 cloves garlic, smashed w/skin

• 1 tsp black peppercorns

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 whole lemon

• 6 sprigs fresh thyme

• 6 bay leaves

• Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Fill a 12 quart stock pot with 2 gallons of water and bring to a boil; add your whole chicken, spices, and aromatics.

2. The chicken should take about 45-60 minutes to reach 165F. Temp the chicken with a meat thermometer and remove from the water.

3. Let the chicken cool for a few minutes so you don't burn your fingers like me, remove all of the meat, place in the fridge in containers.

4. Don't forget to flip the chicken upside down when you're picking the meat, there is SO MUCH more meat on a chicken than you might think. Get in there.

5. Carefully place the bones back into the stock pot and simmer for another 1-2 hours until the stock has reduced by a third, or longer if you want a stronger flavor, you'll just have less stock.

6. You can also simmer this on the stove or in a crock pot for an extra 8-12 hours with a splash of apple cider vinegar if you want a bone broth.

7. Carefully remove the large bones from the pot with tongs so they don't slosh around and splash when you strain.

8. Strain your broth with a fine mesh strainer into another bowl or pot, make sure it's large enough to hold all of the broth, and you're all done!

This happens very often in my kitchen, I refuse to pay a ton of money for large amounts of stock and bouillon powder or chicken base just doesn't cut it for me.

I can't wait to show you all of the soups I've been making! The best part about this 30 Days of Soup campaign is the fact that my freezer will be STOCKED with soup for the winter. You get tested, delicious recipes to try and we get quick dinner options for the next few months. A true win/win.

I hope you try this easy chicken stock recipe; save some money and keep those mystery ingredients out of your food! If you try it please let me know how it works out for you! You can tag me in stories or DM me on Instagram or TikTok @LizaHomesteads!