Easy Homemade Chicken Stock or Chicken Broth

Don't toss your raw chicken scrap, just make your own chicken stock or broth...it's so easy, economical and taste so much better than store bought!  

I recently had some chicken breasts that I deboned, unintentionally leaving a lot of meat on the bone.  I could not bear the thought of tossing all that meat, so I decided to make chicken stock.

                                         No Need to Run to The Store...

                                  I'll Just Grab Some from The Freezer!

Ingredients

The Chicken Stock*

• About 2 lbs raw chicken bones with some meat, skin on or not, or whole chicken pieces (wings are good)
  
• About 2 whole carrots, cleaned and cut in half or smaller pieces, or the equivalent amount of baby carrots
• 2 whole celery stalks and leaves, cleaned and the stalks cut in half or smaller pieces
• White or yellow large onion, peeled and cut into quarters
• Small bunch of parsley, rinsed
• about 4 qts of room temperature water

The Chicken Broth*

Same as ingredients for the chicken stock, but add these spices:

• 4 whole, peeled garlic cloves or about 1 tsp. garlic powder
• About 1 TB kosher salt (or to taste)
  
• About 1 TB whole black peppercorns (or to taste)
  

Directions

1. Place the chicken bones with meat (or whole chicken pieces) into a large pot or stock pot.
   
2. Add the vegetables (and spices if making the broth).
   
3. Simmer at least 2 hours uncovered, taste and simmer longer if you want a more intense flavor.
4. Using a large slotted spoon or colander, strain the bones, meat and vegetables (and spices if used)...I use cheesecloth (held onto a bowl or pot with a rubber band) for the fine pieces and spices.  Cool for about an hour, pour into glass jars or plastic containers with lids,* leaving about a 2" head space. Refrigerate or freeze. (If freezing, use freezable containers and cool completely in the fridge first.) Label.
5. Will keep in the fridge up to 5 days and in the freezer up to 3 months.

 
 *Tips

1. Stock and broth can be used interchangeably; however, the primary difference is that stock is not seasoned (especially not with salt).  Stock is generally used in recipes that call for seasoning, and broth is generally eaten as is and in some recipes.  Recipes that chicken stock or broth are used in should have the seasoning adjusted accordingly. 
2. Chop the chicken and bones and vegetables into smaller pieces for a more intense flavor. 
   
3. Use containers that will hold small amounts if you plan on using in various recipes...maybe between 2-3 cup containers.
4. I had just enough meat scraps to make a delicious little chicken salad!
   

So easy, economical and handy...homemade is always better!  Enjoy!