Chicken Stock

Inspired by Anthony Bourdain - World Citizen

I’ve always enjoyed a good but meal I have to attribute Anthony Bourdain for inspiring me to to expand my culinary horizons. However, in addition to having openness to new things, I also took away quite a few of his cooking tips. Making your own chicken stock is one of those things that can really elevate your dish far above anything you can get from a can or box. If you’re serious about achieving fine dining quality at home, you should really be making your own stock. Bourdain used a universal dark stock both at Les Halles and in his last cookbook, Appetites. I do the same. By roasting your chicken parts and vegetables first, you gain more distinct and bold flavors thanks to the wonderful Maillard Reaction. Yeah, Science!

INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN STOCK (Makes 1 ½ - 2 gallons):

  • 6-7 lbs of chicken backs, necks, bones, etc (see notes)

  • 4 medium white onions, peeled and roughly chopped

  • 2 large celery stalks, roughly chopped

  • 2 large carrots, roughly chopped

  • 3 TBS tomato paste

  • 1 tsp whole peppercorns

  • 1 bunch of parsley, stemmed

  • 1 small handful of thyme springs

  • 2 large bay leaves

GO FOR IT

CHICKEN STOCK:

  1. Arrange chicken parts on a lightly oiled baking sheet and place in 375°F oven for 90 to 120 minutes (flip half way through - parts should be nicely browned)

  2. Removing chicken parts from heat and set aside, scraping up as much liquid and browned bit on bottom of pan

  3. Using same pan, roast onions, celery, and carrots for 45 minutes

  4. Remove vegetables from heat and toss with tomato paste, then return to baking sheet and continue roasting for an additional 15 minutes

  5. In a large stock pot, add your roasted chicken parts and vegetables and add in peppercorns, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves (get as much liquid from baking sheet as possible while also discarding any burned pieces)

  6. Fill pot with enough water to cover everything by about 2 or 3 inches

  7. Bring pot to a boil, then reduce het and simmer for 8 to 10 hours (taste your broth throughout and you will be able to taste when it is done)

  8. Drain everything through a mesh strainer and discard all solids, then strain again using a cheesecloth (or use the mesh strainer again to try and capture as much solid material as possible)

  9. Let cool, then add to containers and place in refrigerator or freezer (will last 2 to 3 weeks in refrigerator or 6 months in freezer)

NOTES:

This will make quite a bit of stock. And you are free to cut the ingredients in half and make less. However, if you’re like me, you will use all of this over the course of several months. That’s why this will always be on constant rotation. I will acquire chicken parts over several months, make this, then start the process over again as I use my stockpile.

Here’s what I do. When I make chicken dishes, I will usually buy a whole chicken and break it down. Not only is this far cheaper than buying individual cuts of chicken, but I get to save the chicken back and neck and fattier, unusable parts. I place them in large ziplock in the freezer until I have 6 to 7 lbs. I will also save the bones from rotisserie chickens I sometimes buy for quick meals, or simply from meals in which bones are left behind. You don’t want to use only bones. You need to meat and fat from the backs and necks and other parts to contribute the chicken flavor to your stock.

You can also skip this and just go out and buy chicken backs, neck, or even wings for pretty cheap and make a smaller quantity whenever you see fit rather than taking up space in your freezer for months.

When I roast my chicken parts, I only brown the uncooked backs, frames, etc. Obviously there’s no reason to roast bones and frames from a rotisserie chicken. However, you can skip all of the roasting steps altogether if your goal is to make a lighter, less bold in flavor stock (more similar to what you’ll find in a store, but still much more flavorful than the store bought stuff). Should you do this, you can also skip the tomato paste as well.