How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock Using Leftover Kitchen Scraps

Ok, I’ll admit: I’ve seen articles and recipes for how to make homemade chicken stock before and I’ve rolled my eyes.  I felt like it was one of those time-consuming, unnecessary hobbies that is more trouble than it’s worth, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I literally threw this in a pot in less than 5 minutes and took a nap while it cooked. Sunday goals.

Think about this:

Do you ever use ALL the celery you buy? What about green onions? How about dollars and dollars of wasted fresh herbs?

Are you sick of throwing away piles and piles of kitchen scraps when you’re prepping food? An onion root here, some garlic skin there? The knobby ends of carrots their green tops?

How bad do you feel when you pick through a rotisserie chicken and feel like you throw most of it away?

I never realized I could USE IT ALL.  Just keep all those scraps in a baggie as you go all week.

Now, to make homemade chicken stock you’re going to want to save the RIGHT kitchen scraps, not just any ole kitchen scraps.  You want to keep the aromatic ones, (ex: onions, garlic, celery, carrots, herbs, etc.) basically anything that would be the “base” of a soup or meal, not broccoli and green beans for example.

Then, buy your amazing rotisserie chicken, (or buy a fresh whole roasting chicken!) and pick off all the meat you want to save for soups, salads, etc.  Keep the carcass! Finally, I have something to do with that thing other than putting it on the back porch for the ferrel cats to pick through….

WARNING: this makes your house smell so good your dog will sit next to the pot and drool and beg for chicken scraps. 

So this is what I gathered in kitchen scraps from a couple days of cooking.  Just keep a large gallon zip bag in the fridge to collect as you go.  Then reuse the bag after you make this week’s stock! 

Once you fill a bag’s worth, dump everything, (and the chicken!) into a big pot and cover it with water.  I only have this standard size pot which holds a couple quarts.  If you have a huge, 8 quart pot fill it with a couple bag’s worth and two or three chickens.  Moral of the story, just use enough water to cover it all up.

Continue to take photos of your adorable puppy.

Chewy ♥

Finally, just boil it uncovered for 2-4 hours, (the more it reduces the more amazing it will be, but you will also end up with less stock).  Pour it through a strainer then store it for up to a week in the fridge, (or months in the freezer!) and use it in EVERYTHING.  Seriously, it makes everything instantly taste like the most amazing version of your grandma’s chicken noodle soup.  Bye weird grocery store stock. THIS IS FREE $0.99.  WORTH IT.

How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock Using Leftover Kitchen Scraps

 

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Cook time

2 hours

Total time

2 hours

 

Make your own chicken stock at home using leftover kitchen scraps!

Author: Ally

Serves: 2 quarts

Ingredients

• 1 cooked rotisserie chicken carcass, white and dark meat picked off, (alternatively, you could use a fresh whole roasting chicken)
• 1 or 2 onion root ends and skins
• 4 to 6 carrot ends, greens, etc.
• 6 to 8 celery stalks, greens, roots, etc.
• ½ head of garlic, (peels, roots, etc.)
• A bunch of mixed fresh herb stems, (parsley, thyme, rosemary, etc.)
• 1 Tbsp. black peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 3 to 4 quarts of water, (or enough to cover the chicken & veggies in the pot)

Instructions

1. Place chicken, vegetables, herbs, and spices into a large pot and cover with water.
2. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and let simmer for 2 to 4 hours.
3. Pour contents of the pot over a fine mesh strainer into a large container.
4. Store in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge or a couple months in the freezer.

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