There is nothing better than fresh chicken stock made out of left over bones. It is so easy to make and it barely requires any labor and supervision. If you have made the “Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot” before it means you have a crock pot. I highly recommend using the leftovers from “Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot” recipe, as you will get all of the flavors from the spices used to cook the chicken. And maybe you will get to buy less boxed chicken broth. Well, maybe not if you use a lot of it. But at least, you get to have some homemade on hand whenever you need it.
- Leftover chicken bones or carcass roughly equivalent to one small or medium sized chicken
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of fresh parsley
- 1 onion - peeled and loosely chopped
- 1 rib of celery chopped
- 1 carrot chopped (no need to peel)
- Salt, to taste
- After removing all of the meat from the chicken put/leave the bones, skin, cooking juices, etc. in the crock pot. If you are using the chicken carcass from the “Whole Chicken in Crock Pot” recipe just leave every single thing that's leftover (except the good meat of course) in the crock pot including the original onion and spices you used when making the chicken.
- Add the onion, celery, carrot and spices on top of the bones and fill the crock pot almost to the top with filtered water (leaving about ½” at the top).
- Turn the crock pot to "LOW" after dinner and cook all night long or you could start it in the morning and cook on "LOW" for 8 – 10 hours during the day.
- After the stock is done cooking, turn off the heat.
- Using a soup ladle, put the stock in fat separator measuring cup if you have one then pass the stock through a fine sieve to remove all herbs/bones/etc. If you don't have a fat separator, I strongly recommend you get one which can be very useful when making gravy too. If not, the fat can get removed at a later time.
- Either refrigerate or freeze the stock for future use. I usually freeze some in both 1 and 2-cup portions. This stock is great in soups like chicken noodle soup and also in rice like risotto. I use it when I make my mushroom risotto.
I recommend using organic ingredients whenever possible.
To limit waste, after you pick off the good chicken meat you can leave the bones in the crock pot to make some stock. Like I previously mentioned, I make chicken stock from the chicken carcass from the “Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot” recipe. Just leave every single thing that’s leftover (except the good meat of course) in the crock pot including the original onion and spices you used when making the chicken.
Add the onion, the celery, the carrot and spices on top of the bones and fill the crock pot almost to the top with filtered water (leaving about ½” at the top).
Turn the slow cooker onto “low” after dinner and cook all night long or alternatively you could start it in the morning and cook on “low” for 8 – 10 hours during the day.
After the stock is done cooking turn off the heat and remove all “chunks” from the crock pot only leaving teh liquid in the crock pot. Then transfer the stock, using a soup ladle, in a fat separator measuring cup to remove the fat. But this could also be done manually with a spoon if you are very patient. Then, pass the stock through a fine sieve to remove all herbs.
Either refrigerate or freeze the stock for future use. I usually freeze some in both 1 and 2-cup portions. Another option could be freezing some in ice cube trays. This stock is great in soups like chicken noodle soup and also in rice like risotto.
I usually save 4 cups as stock and use the rest to make chicken noodle soup. Yes, I make a chicken meal, stock, and soup from just one whole chicken. That’s right.
Bring chicken stock to a boil. Add dry noodles to stock, about 2-3 cups and set the timer according to pasta package directions. When there are 5 minutes left in the cooking time throw in the chopped vegetables you want to add. Keep the stock boiling. When there is about 1 minute left add the cooked chicken (2-3 cups) to the stock so it can heat up thoroughly. Sometimes I have more than that left over from the chicken cooked the night before and will use it all. I also like to add wild rice to my chicken soup and cook about a 1/4 cup of wild rice in a separate pot and add it to the soup at the end. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm and store the leftovers in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy!
