Chicken stock shows up in more recipes on this site than almost any other ingredient. It goes into gumbo, paella, chicken and noodles, and braises. A carton from the store will do the job. Stock you made yourself does it a lot better, and it costs you a few dollars in chicken backs and an afternoon of the pot mostly minding itself.

The best time to make it is the day after a Roast Chicken. The carcass goes in the pot with a pound of wings, some onion and carrot, and cold water. Three hours later you have about three quarts of stock that will make everything you cook with it taste more like itself.

What You’re Learning

Start cold, and never let it boil. Chicken starts giving off proteins as soon as it warms up. If you bring the water up slowly, those proteins clump together and float to the top as gray foam that you can skim right off. A hard boil does the opposite. It breaks the proteins and fat into tiny bits and churns them back into the liquid, which is why boiled stock turns out cloudy and tastes greasy. Keep it at a lazy simmer, just a bubble or two breaking the surface, and it stays clear.

Body comes from collagen, and collagen comes from the bony parts. Backs, necks, and wings are mostly bone, skin, and connective tissue. Over a long simmer that tissue melts into gelatin, and gelatin is what gives stock its body and makes a pan sauce glossy. You can see whether you got it right: good stock sets like loose jelly in the fridge. Leave the salt out, too. Stock is an ingredient, and it’s going to cook down in other dishes. Salt the dish you use it in, not the stock.

Ingredients

Makes about 3 quarts.

3 to 4 lb chicken backs, necks, and wings (or 1 roast chicken carcass plus 1 1/2 lb wings)
4 quarts (16 cups) cold water
1 large yellow onion, halved, skin on
2 medium carrots, cut into 3-inch pieces
2 celery ribs, cut into 3-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, smashed
6 to 8 parsley stems
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Method

Start the chicken in cold water. Put the chicken pieces in a large pot and cover them with the cold water. The water should sit about an inch above the chicken. Set the pot over medium heat, uncovered.
Bring it up slowly and skim. As the water heats, gray foam will rise to the top. Skim it off with a fat skimmer or a large spoon as it gathers. This takes 20 to 30 minutes. The moment you see the first bubbles, turn the heat down to low.
Add the vegetables and aromatics. Once the foam slows down, add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley stems, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Push them under the surface with a ladle.
Simmer gently for 3 hours. Keep the pot uncovered at the barest simmer, with just a bubble or two breaking the surface every few seconds. Don’t stir, which only clouds it. If the level drops below the bones, top it up with a little hot water.
Lift out the solids. Turn off the heat. Pull out the big pieces of chicken and vegetables with tongs and throw them away. They’ve given everything they have.
Strain. Pour the rest of the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl. Don’t press on the solids, since that pushes cloudy bits through.
Cool it fast. Set the bowl in a sink of ice water and stir now and then until the stock is lukewarm, about 20 minutes. Then refrigerate it overnight, uncovered until cold.
Skim the fat and store. The fat hardens into a layer on top. Lift it off with a spoon and save it for roasting potatoes if you like. The stock underneath should be set like loose jelly. Portion it into deli containers and refrigerate or freeze.

Notes

Keep a bag in the freezer. Save roast chicken carcasses, wing tips, and the backs from a spatchcocked bird in a gallon freezer bag. When it’s full, you have enough for a pot of stock.
If it didn’t set, it’s still good stock. It just has less gelatin. Next time add more wings, or a couple of chicken feet if your butcher has them. They’re pure collagen.
Stock or broth? Stock is made mostly from bones and left unsalted, so it has body. Broth is made mostly from meat and seasoned to sip. Any recipe on this site that calls for chicken broth works with this stock. Just salt to taste.
Storage. Stock keeps 4 to 5 days in the fridge and 6 months in the freezer. Freeze some in 1-cup containers for soups and some in an ice cube tray for pan sauces. See our Food Storage Guide for more.
Want it darker? Roast the chicken pieces and vegetables at 425°F for 40 minutes first, then scrape the browned bits from the pan into the pot. That makes a brown stock, which is deeper and richer and great for gravy and French-style braises.
Use it this week. Put it to work in Chicken and Noodles, White Chicken Chili, Zuppa Toscana, or a pot of Lentejas con Chorizo.