Homemade chicken stock is seriously so much better than the store-bought stuff, and my chicken stock recipe is so simple. You’ll probably never want to grab it off the shelf again! Not only is it super healthy, but you can use it in everything from soups to chilis and more. Stick around, and I’ll walk you through my chicken stock recipe step-by-step.
Ingredients
- Chicken bones
- Chicken feet
- Garlic
- Onions
- Water
Equipment
Step One: Simmer the Bones in Water
For this chicken stock, I’m using chicken backbones and chicken feet. I actually snag both from a local farm I found on Facebook Marketplace—pretty cool, right? You won’t always find stuff like backbones and feet at your regular grocery store, but I’ve lucked out with this local spot.
I toss the bones straight into my big stock pot (no need to even thaw them first) and then just fill it up with water. Turn the stove to medium heat until it gets to a nice, gentle boil.
As your chicken stock heats up, you’ll probably notice some grey foam bubbling to the surface. That’s called scum, and yeah, it looks kinda gross, but don’t worry—it’s totally harmless. You’ll just want to scoop it off with a fine mesh skimmer so your stock turns out nice and clear with that perfect golden color we’re aiming for.
Step Two: Adding Extra Flavor
For a basic chicken stock recipe, all you really need are chicken bones and water, but I like to throw in some onions and garlic for extra flavor. And honestly, no need to even bother peeling them even —it all just adds to the flavor.
Once the onions and garlic are in, I give the stock a quick stir, turn the heat down to medium-low, and pop the lid on. Now, it’s just going to simmer away for the next 3-6 hours.
Step Three: Strain Chicken Stock
Look at this beautiful golden elixir! This chicken stock looks perfect after just over 4 hours of simmering away on my stove. Now it’s time to strain it.
When it comes to the straining portion of this chicken stock recipe, I like to do it twice. First, I pour the stock through a colander into a big bowl to catch all the big stuff like bones, skin, garlic, and whatever else.
Then I strain the stock again, this time through a fine mesh strainer to catch all the smaller bits. That way, I’m left with a perfectly clear, beautifully golden chicken stock.
Step Four: Refrigerate and Remove Fat
The next step for this chicken stock recipe, just pop the stock in the fridge for a few hours. If you’re not in a rush, you can even leave it in there overnight.
Once the stock cools down, you’ll notice a layer of fat that hardens on top. Just scoop it off and scrape it away.
Underneath that fat layer, you’ll find a gelatinous, goopy chicken stock—that’s exactly what we’re going for! All that collagen from the bones is super good for you, and a thick stock like this means we’ve made a really high-quality, nutritious batch.
The stock will thin out when it’s heated by adding it to soups, stews, etc. For this particular batch of chicken stock, I was making it to add to a pot of brisket chili. Yum!
When I make our Thanksgiving Turkey, I love using the leftover carcass to make bone broth. So easy and so good for you! The process is very similar to my chicken stock recipe. I have all the step-by-step instructions on how to make the bone broth and more information on the health benefits of bone broth in a full post that you can read here.
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