How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock or Broth

Stock is technically made from bones, and Broth is technically made from meat. If you make a base from both, what category does it fall under? You can argue in the comments, but this is how I make my homemade chicken stock/broth to use in any recipe that calls for either. And the best news of all - when you make stock yourself, you can control what goes in it. I typically don't add any salt to my stock and save the seasoning for whichever dish I'll be adding it to.

This is the perfect solution for leftover roasted chicken, turkey, partridge, cassowary, pigeon, or any other family roast carcass. If you want to make stock but don't have a leftover roast chicken, you can add any bone-in cuts to the roasting step below.

Many soup and stew recipes call for adding a chicken broth. While it's easy to pick up a container from the store, have you tried drinking it straight out of the carton? The flavour of your broth is going to go into the flavour of your soup, so the more you enjoy the broth, the more you'll enjoy your final product.

This is using a modified pho broth method - I was blown away by the elegance of a good pho broth and try to add those layers of complexity (in technique if not in spice) to western soups. This is a stock base, so don't worry - we won't be adding any star anise. Keep an eye out for a pho blog post soon!

I always try to have a few containers of stock in the freezer so I don't need to think of preparing it in advance if a soup mood strikes me. And if I run out? It's the perfect excuse to invite some friends over for a fresh roasted chicken to start the process over again.

Ingredients

• 1 leftover chicken

• 2 medium onions

• 1 head of garlic

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tbsp salt (optional)

• 12 cups of water (or as much as your pot will hold)

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 425F.

• Peel any dirty layers off your onions and slice them in half equatorially (not head-to-tail). Place cut side down on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet, along with your garlic, bay leaves, and any un-roasted bird pieces. You can toss on raw legs and/or drumsticks if you don't have roasted leftovers.

• Place the tray in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the top of the onions and garlic begin to blacken - remove the bay leaves before they completely burn between the 10 and 15-minute mark.

• Add your leftover bird and your freshly roasted ingredients to a large stock pot and fill with water.

• Feel free to add up to a tablespoon of salt at this point. (I typically don't salt the stock and fully salt the dishes the stock will be going in. If you add salt here, remember to use less salt later).

• Cover the pot and heat to a boil, then reduce to a simmer - the goal is to have just enough water movement to agitate the ingredients. For best stock body, simmer for 4 hours.

• Remove the large solids, and strain into your storage container of choice.

Check out the video walkthrough for tips and tricks!