Homemade Chicken Stock
If you’ve ever cooked a pot of soup and thought, “Hmm… it’s good, but it’s missing something,” that “something” was almost certainly homemade chicken stock. Making your own stock is like discovering a cheat code for cooking: soups become silkier, sauces gain depth, and even plain rice suddenly tastes like something a chef made “with intention.”And the best part? It is shockingly easy. Like… so easy you’ll question why you’ve been buying those sad little cartons from the grocery store. And no judgment—we’ve all been there.This guide will walk you through everything: pressure cooker and stovetop methods, roasted vs. delicate stock, vegetable options, using all those chicken parts you weren’t sure what to do with (yes, including the feet!), and how to chill and store your liquid gold safely. You’ll even get ideas for how to use your stock—both the everyday ways and the impress-your-dinner-guests ways.
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker optional
- 1 large 8-12 quart stock pot if not using pressure cooker
- 1 sheet pan if roasting
Ingredients
- 2 –3 lb chicken parts carcass, wings, backs, feet, necks—any combo
- 1 –2 carrots chunked
- 1 –2 celery stalks
- 1 onion or leek chunked
- Optional aromatics: parsley stems thyme, 2–3 garlic cloves, bay leaf, peppercorns
- Optional roasted version:
- Roast chicken parts + veg + rub a spoonful of tomato paste onto veg before roasting.
- Add water to cover. Now this is a personal preference. If you add just enough water to cover you’ll get a more gelatinezed stock This is desirable!. If you add water to the max line but that is more water than you have ‘stuff’ the stock will be lighter. This isn’t exact science. Add more chicken/veg to keep it richer, or add more water to get more volume. You’ll find out what you like.
Instructions
For Pressure Cooker Option:
- Load the pot.
- No need to be precious about it. Just pile everything in.
- Cover with water.
- Fill to about 1 inch below the max line, or see the note about water above.
- Cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 45 minutes.
- If your machine has a “Soup/Broth” button, go wild.
- Natural release for at least 20 minutes.
- The pressure drop extracts extra collagen. That’s the good stuff!
- Strain.
- Pour through a fine mesh strainer. Do not press the solids or your stock may get cloudy.
- Cool quickly (see the safety section below).
- Refrigerate overnight.
- The fat will rise and solidify—remove it if you like. And I do recommend you remove it, and then use it on roasted veggies. No waste here! Try it and thank me later.
For stove-top option:
- Add chicken parts + vegetables to a large stockpot. Ok, I’m going to get a little specific on you if you want. If you add the chicken first and let that come to a boil and then simmer it’s easier to skim the scum. After about 45 minutes of skimming then add your vegetables and herbs and finish. But it really doesn’t matter – you do you.
- Fill with cold water until ingredients are covered by 1–2 inches.
- Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat.
- Gentle is key—rolling boiling = cloudy stock. To be specific – bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Seeing the first bubbles indicates you’ve reach the right heat, reducing to simmer so you only see slight bubbles keeps it at the right heat and eliminates the cloudiness.
- Simmer 3–4 hours.
- For an ultra-rich version, go 5–6. I’m going to be honest, I never go that long with chicken stock. I’m convinced after 3 hours I’ve reached max flavor but you won’t know until you try it. When it tastes good to you – you’re done.
- Skim occasionally to remove foam. No seriously, and see my note above about skimming. Skim that scum off your precious golden liquid. And do it frequently. You’ll notice with the pressure cooker method there is no skimming – that’s the shortcut. Stovetop is going old school your grandmas version and it generates scum that you need to get outta there. But this step does produce a better stock.
- Strain, cool quickly, refrigerate.