It's so easy to make your own homemade chicken stock for FREE from freezer scraps! Homemade chicken stock is more flavorful, has more body, and is more nutritious than store-bought broth.
Save onion, celery, carrot, and parsley scraps in a gallon sized plastic bag in your freezer, along with any chicken bones or a rotisserie chicken carcass, until you are ready to cook.
Stovetop Instructions
Add the contents of the bag to a large stockpot, or the biggest pot with a lid you have.
Cover the contents in the pot with water, leaving about 2-3 inches of room at the top of the pot.
Add the whole peppercorns (1 teaspoon), the bay leaf, and a teaspoon of kosher salt (optional).
Bring to a boil, then cover and turn down the heat to low.
Simmer, covered, for a minimum of 3 hours and up to 6 hours.
Turn off the heat, uncover, and allow to cool for 20 minutes so it's easier to strain.
Slow Cooker Instructions
Add the contents of the bag to your slow cooker- make sure it's at least 6 quarts.
Cover the contents in the pot with water, leaving about 1-2 inches of room at the top of the crockpot.
Add the whole peppercorns (1 teaspoon), the bay leaf, and a teaspoon of kosher salt (optional).
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
Turn slow cooker off, uncover, and allow to cool for 20 minutes so it's easier to strain.
Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Instructions
Add the contents of the bag to your pressure cooker - make sure it's at least 6 quarts. This won't work with a mini instant pot, unless you use only half of the contents of the bag.
Cover the contents in the pot with water, making sure to NOT go past the "max fill" line.
Add the whole peppercorns (1 teaspoon), the bay leaf, and a teaspoon of kosher salt (optional).
Place the cover on and make sure the valve is in "sealed" position.
Set pressure to manual on high for 45 minutes. It will take about 20-30 minutes to come to pressure.
Allow to naturally release pressure for 30 minutes, then move the sealing valve to "venting" and wait for the float valve to sink down before opening.
Open the pressure cooker, turn it off, and allow to cool for 20 minutes so it's easier to strain.
How to strain the stock
Place your pot in your sink and place an opened plastic grocery bag next to it. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the large scraps into the grocery bag- get as much as you can. Then, tie up the bag and toss it in the trash.
Next, place the container you want to store the chicken stock in next to the pot in the sink. I like reusing those containers you get soup in from restaurants- kind of like these.
Place a mesh sieve directly over the container - use a small one if you're using small containers, and a larger one for a larger container.
Use a ladle to scoop the chicken stock into the container through the sieve, which will catch any remaining solid pieces lingering in the liquid.
Notes
If you want REALLY clear chicken stock, you can add a layer of cheesecloth inside the sieve.
To lower the fat content of your chicken stock, you can use a spoon to skim off any fat that has accumulate on top after it's cooled a bit. This is easy to do after you refrigerate it, as the fat will solidify on the top.
The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.