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Epicurious

Chicken Stock

Easy to make—you can use a slow cooker and cook for about 6 hours—but, ironically, so easy to consume. When you make it, you’ll find uses for it, and it will be time to make it again. You can always use canned stock or water, but there is nothing like real stock.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes about 6 cups

Ingredients

1 medium onion
2 pounds chicken, preferably wings, thighs, and legs
1 medium carrot
1 celery stalk
4 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan with 6 cups water and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so that the mixture bubbles steadily but not rapidly. Cook, skimming any foam that accumulates, for at least 1 hour (more than 2 hours is counterproductive).

    Step 2

    Cool slightly, then strain. Refrigerate (you can skim off fat after the stock cools completely) and use within 3 days or freeze.

  2. Chicken Stock, Chinese Style

    Step 3

    Omit the bay leaf; add 10 nickel-sized slices fresh ginger and, if you like, 1 star anise.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
TagsStockChickenPoultryDairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreeKetoEasyCookbooks
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