Basic Chicken Stock Recipe (2024)

By Jacques Pepin

Basic Chicken Stock Recipe (1)

Total Time
2 hours 30 minutes
Rating
4(397)
Notes
Read community notes

The difference between a good soup and a great soup is the stock, and if you've never made your own, you're really missing out. This recipe from the legendary Jacques Pépin takes a few hours, but very little effort, and you'll never go back to those cardboard cartons of over-salted stock again. It also freezes beautifully.

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Ingredients

Yield:13 cups

  • 3pounds chicken bones (neck, backs and gizzards, skinless or with as little skin as possible)
  • 6quarts lukewarm water
  • 1tablespoon herbes de Provence (see note)
  • 1large onion, peeled and cut into 4 pieces
  • 12whole cloves
  • 1teaspoon celery seed
  • 1tablespoon dark soy sauce

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

11 calories; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 51 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Basic Chicken Stock Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Place the bones and the water in a large stockpot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and boil gently for 30 minutes. Most of the fat and impurities will come to the surface during this time; skim off and discard as much of them as you can.

  2. Step

    2

    Add the remainder of the ingredients, return the liquid to a boil and boil gently for 2 hours. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve or through a colander lined with a dampened cloth kitchen towel or dampened paper towels.

  3. Step

    3

    Allow the stock to cool. Then remove the surface fat and freeze the stock in plastic containers with tight-fitting lids. Use as needed.

Tip

  • If you do not have herbes de Provence, substitute equal amounts of at least 3 of the following: dried marjoram, thyme, summer savory, sage, fennel, basil, rosemary and lavender.

Ratings

4

out of 5

397

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Jill

Easy to make, and is a great way to use the entire chicken and not throw out the bones. Using herbes de Provence is a must. Try not to substitute if you can.

Brad

Not all the the butchers near me sell carcasses, but I've been getting great results using chicken feet. They produce a rich, gelatinous stock that's good in soup, or for making Bolognese and other recipes. No more canned broth for me.

judy dyer

I make stock similar to this but first I bake/brown the chicken bones, necks, etc. in the oven. very flavorful.

Kevin

That would be cloves. 12 seems like a lot but who am i to doubt The Great One. You can poke them into the onion.

Stephen

Twelve cloves dominated the broth and the dark soy made it really dark. Couldn't taste the chicken in this chicken broth recipe. I froze it labeled as vegetable broth thinking it might go better with recipes calling for that.

PatC

Reduce the number of cloves to two or three! Often I can buy a whole air chilled chicken for the same per-pound price as chicken backs. Poach the breasts and de boned thighs in court bullion, use them for chicken salad or pot pie meat and use the rest to make stock. Alternatively, roast a chicken whole and uses the bones—leave them a little meaty—to make roast chicken stock. Be sure to save ALL the pan juices and fond for the stock. Maybe not as French as Jacques’ stock but good nonetheless.

tiger squeakily, jr.

cloves of what?

René of B3K

do not use paper towels to filter the broth or replace a coffee filter unless you like the taste of the industrial paper process. Line the calendar with cheese cloth.

Chris B

I do that a lot, and you get a decent stock (still better than cans or boxes), but not nearly as good as what results from fresh bones. If you use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, or even your own roast, taste the stock for saltiness, and usually be careful not to boil it down much.

Susan

Chicken feet all the way for soup stock. Agreed. There is nothing better for producing a flavorful rich stock. A carrot is always added when making my stock.

Carmela Sanford

Completely untrue. There’s absolutely no taste from white paper towels. Besides, you’re not dipping a piece of towel into the pot. You're gently skimmer the surface.

Shabnam Russo

I prefer to use chicken wings , sautéed in a little butter , add OCCL onions carrots celery leeks simmer in boiling water I add a Knorr Stick pot and bouquet garni ( bayleaves peppercorns and cloves ) bubble bubble tool no trouble 💖

Martha in Louiisville CO

Best stock recipe I have ever made. Followed directions exactly.

Frank

I was taught to roast the bones of any stock first to bring out the golden color and flavor inside the bone marrow. Then add the roasted chicken, beef or pork bones into cold water and reduce on a low simmer so the any leftover meat on the bones does not cloud the consume. This method has never failed me

Blaze

I made this at Thanksgiving using turkey necks & at Christmas using chicken backs. Both times I omitted cloves & celery seeds. It makes the best gravy of all time & filled the house with delicious smells!

t

I have always wondered: why is it important to remove fat at any point in recipe? Doesn't the fat make everything taste better?

Noel Noodleman

Chef Pepin might tell you that In French, stock is called fond de cuisine, or, roughly, "foundation of the kitchen." Fat removal is not only cosmetic but also allows the stock to serve as a neutral flavorant—some dishes will benefit from the fat, others not, and fat can be added back if necessary. :-)

Amy Black

Game changer for my soup recipes. And ridiculously easy!

DGO

how much stock does this recipe make?

ECC

Now making my second batch. I get the whole chicken carcass at my local Asian supermarket for $1 each...2 or 3 suffice. Then do as written. Simple and tasty.

dimmerswitch

Make chicken stock often, usually w/o recipe, but thought I'd try this as it had a couple of unique twists. Published by Chef Pepin in 1991. A classic for sure. But things change. Not a keeper for me. If you want a recipe try Samin Nosrat's Chicken Stock on this site. Notes:*Starts w/ 24 C (6 qts) water & says 13 C outcome. Simmering for only 2'ish hours, even uncovered, will not get that amount of redux.*Is 12 cloves a typo? Regardless, too many. *Use the fine sieve option step 2.

Alicia

Wait what? Do you mean remove the skin "and" meat from a raw bird, or just the skin? Removing everything sounds like a mean task. Advise??

JMR

To remove fat, I find it far better to chill broth then skim off fat when cool. The fat, if carefully removed, can be used to make matzo balls for soup. Also, in my ever-so-humble opinion, there are too many cloves in this recipe.

Dorran

Can you use the bones from a carcass of a chicken already roasted (and enjoyed), or does one need raw?

Chris B

I do that a lot, and you get a decent stock (still better than cans or boxes), but not nearly as good as what results from fresh bones. If you use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, or even your own roast, taste the stock for saltiness, and usually be careful not to boil it down much.

Cheffy Dave

Of course!

Shabnam Russo

I prefer to use chicken wings , sautéed in a little butter , add OCCL onions carrots celery leeks simmer in boiling water I add a Knorr Stick pot and bouquet garni ( bayleaves peppercorns and cloves ) bubble bubble tool no trouble 💖

PatC

Reduce the number of cloves to two or three! Often I can buy a whole air chilled chicken for the same per-pound price as chicken backs. Poach the breasts and de boned thighs in court bullion, use them for chicken salad or pot pie meat and use the rest to make stock. Alternatively, roast a chicken whole and uses the bones—leave them a little meaty—to make roast chicken stock. Be sure to save ALL the pan juices and fond for the stock. Maybe not as French as Jacques’ stock but good nonetheless.

René of B3K

do not use paper towels to filter the broth or replace a coffee filter unless you like the taste of the industrial paper process. Line the calendar with cheese cloth.

Carmela Sanford

Completely untrue. There’s absolutely no taste from white paper towels. Besides, you’re not dipping a piece of towel into the pot. You're gently skimmer the surface.

Cook 252

Perhaps it depends on the brand, but I also have found paper towels to leave a bad taste when using as a filter. The white paper products are made with bleach. It would be unhealthy to use. Brown paper towels may be ok.

tiger squeakily, jr.

how big a pot do you need o make this?

Private notes are only visible to you.

Basic Chicken Stock Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the 3 basic ingredients that make up a stock? ›

Stocks are prepared with a few basic ingredients including bones, mirepoix, herbs and spices, and sometimes tomatoes or wine.

What is the basic ratio for cooking stock? ›

The basic ratio I use for making stock is 4:1 1/2:1/2:1/2. That's 4 pounds of bones and meat, 1 1/2 pounds of onions, and 1/2 pounds each of carrots and celery. This ratio works for beef, chicken, turkey, ham/pork, veal, whatever the meat is and makes about 2 quarts of stock.

What are the four essential parts to a good chicken stock? ›

A very basic white chicken stock is a pretty simple affair: It's made with water; chicken; aromatic vegetables, like onion, carrot, and garlic; and herbs.

How to make your own stock? ›

How to make stock
  1. Place chicken carcasses/bones into large pan and top with cold water. Heat to a gentle simmer and skim off any protein scum which rises up. ...
  2. Add vegetables and bouquet garni. ...
  3. Strain the stock, pour into a clean pan and boil fiercely to reduce the stock and intensify the flavour.

What are the 4 basic components to a stock? ›

Investing has a set of four basic elements that investors use to break down a stock's value. In this article, we will look at four commonly used financial ratios—price-to-book (P/B) ratio, price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio, and dividend yield—and what they can tell you about a stock.

What are the four 4 ingredients of a stock? ›

There are four essential parts to all stocks:
  • A major flavoring ingredient.
  • A liquid, most often water.
  • Mirepoix.
  • Aromatics.
May 29, 2013

Which should not be added to the stock? ›

Expert-Verified Answer. Stock powder should not be added with salt because it can cause saltiness of the food.

What is the difference between stock and broth? ›

Stock is generally made from bones, and broth is generally made from flesh. In both cases, they are often supported with aromatic vegetables, but in the case of stock, left unseasoned for maximum flexibility in recipes, whereas broth will usually contain at least salt and pepper.

What are the four essential parts of a stock and the proper ingredients for each? ›

Stöcks contain four essential parts: a major flavoring ingredient, liquid, aro- matics, and mirepoix: The major flavoring ingredient consists of bones and trimmings for meat and fish stocks and vegetables for vegetable stock. The liquid most often used in making stock is water.

What are the do's and don'ts of chicken stock? ›

Stock is Not Rocket Science
  1. The classic ratio for stock is 10 percent vegetables to bones. ...
  2. A good stockpot is critical. ...
  3. Pure, clean water is essential, as the long simmering process concentrates all flavors, the good and the bad, which includes any gunk in your local water supply. ...
  4. Don't add salt at the start of stock.
Feb 12, 2018

How long should I boil chicken for stock? ›

Chicken stock can be simmered for as little as 1 hour or up to 8 hours. Most often, you'll see recipes call for somewhere in between, about 3 to 4 hours. The longer the stock simmers, the more concentrated its flavor.

How do you make chicken stock taste better? ›

The base of most stocks are flavorful aromatics, like onion, carrot, and celery. An easy way to punch up the lackluster flavor of boxed stocks is by adding more of those basics. An onion sliced in half, plus a few chunks of carrots and celery can go a long way in flavoring store-bought stocks.

How do beginners start stocks? ›

  1. Step 1: Set Clear Investment Goals. Begin by specifying your financial objectives. ...
  2. Step 2: Determine How Much You Can Afford To Invest. ...
  3. Step 3: Determine Your Tolerance for Risk. ...
  4. Step 4: Determine Your Investing Style. ...
  5. Choose an Investment Account. ...
  6. Step 6: Fund Your Stock Account.

What is the easiest stock to prepare? ›

Expert-Verified Answer

Among the different types of stock, which one is the easiest to prepare? The vegetable stock is the easiest to prepare. This stock is made from white meat or bones. The preparation for this stock usually takes five to six hours for meat and eight to ten hours for bones.

When making chicken stock, lid on or off? ›

Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours. Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids.

What are the three basic stocks? ›

We'll review the main stock types below, as well as their derivatives, before digging deep into each category in subsequent chapters.
  • White Stocks.
  • Fish Stocks.
  • Bone Broth.

What are the 3 main types of stock? ›

Different Types of Stocks
  • Common Stock. Common stock is, well, common. ...
  • Preferred Stock. Preferred stock represents some degree of ownership in a company but usually doesn't come with the same voting rights. ...
  • Different Classes of Stock.

What are the ingredients in stocks? ›

Ingredients in preparing stocks
  • BONES Veal, beef, and chicken bones are most commonly used.
  • MEAT Leftover cooked meat, such as that remaining on poultry carcasses, is often used along with the bones of the bird or joint.
  • MIREPOIX It is a combination of onions, carrots, celery, and sometimes other vegetables.
Jan 14, 2021

What is stock made of? ›

What Is Stock? Stock is made by simmering bones, herbs, aromatics and regular mirepoix (a combination of onions, carrots and celery) or white mirepoix (onions, fennel, leeks and celery) in water for several hours. As they cook, the bones release gelatin which creates body and rich flavor and mouthfeel.

References

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