Chicken Stock

chicken

onion,

carrots,

celery,

leek, white part only, cut in 1/2 lengthwise

thyme

parsley

bay leaves

peppercorns

garlic, peeled

water

Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs and spices in 12-quart stockpot. Set opened steamer basket directly on ingredients in pot and pour over water. Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. 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. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees. Place in refrigerator overnight. Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.

Outstanding recipe from Alton. The keys to this recipe are to use the good water, lots of gelatinous bones, and enough vegetables to not overwhelm. As to the other reviewers who scoff at Alton’s food safety recommendations, I must urge you not to listen. You cannot safely cool stock that has been boiling on the counter or in the refrigerator. I’m a restaurant manager who’s required to be ServSafe certified and I can tell you that both of these methods are dangerous. Once the stock drops below 135 degrees Fahrenheit, you have four hours to get it below 41 degrees Fahrenheit or it is not safe. If you leave it on the counter, it’ll drop to 75 in about six hours. If you put it in the refrigerator, the internal temp will still be above 75 in 4 hours. This is not safe. Trust me when I say to follow the food safety instructions. Break down your stock into small containers (preferably metal ones) and get them on ice. 

The stock takes several hours of cooking. The flavor from vegetables and aroma from spices dissipates. I would recommend to hold off these ingredients till last two hours of cooking.

Very solid recipe. Good science and good flavor. Be aware, first time stock makers, when done, this stock will NOT taste like soup, bouillon, store bought stock or broth (even low-sodium), as there is NO salt in this recipe. When you use it for a recipe, add salt and the flavors will explode. <br />

I made this just as described, and it is the best, most flavorful stock I've ever used.  Thanks Alton!

Michael Ruhlman, in his book Ratio, recommends a ratio of 3:2 water to bones for stock making. One gallon of water weighs 8.3 lbs. thus for each gallon of H20 you would need 5.5 lbs. of bones. This ratio is consistent with the one recommend by the CIA. This ratio probably seems extreme to most home cooks; it certainly was developed from the point of view of the professional kitchen with an ample supply of bones to throw in the pot.
For the mirepox he calls for a 5:1 ratio of water:vegetables (and mirepox is normally 2:1:1 onions:carrots:celery so this means 1.6 lbs of mirepox for each gallon of water. The CIA ratio for mirepox is a little lighter than Ruhlman's, calling for about half the amount.

He also notes that the finished volume of stock starting with 1 gallon of water would be 0.8 gallons.

AB's Recipe is about 4:1 water to bones ratio.  (2 gal =16.6lbs to 4 lbs bones  Ive made and it is very WEAK.

The other thing to do with chicken stock is to can it.  Remove the solid bits and strain into a pot or two.  Bring those pots to a boil, prepare your pint mason jars, fill them with the boiled stock, and put them in your pressure canner (25 minutes at 15 psi).  No bacteria and the canned stock will keep for 12 to 18 months (mine never does, I use it all within six months).<br />

The best. This is my go to recipe for stock. Please note this is stock not soup. It is used as the base for your soups.  Use common sense when adding the water. covering while cooking does not allow the flavor to concentrate. End product makes the best chicken veggie soup ever. Thanks AB.

Another excellent recipe by Alton Brown.  This was my second time making stock and I deferred to Mr. Bown's expertise.  I did not follow the step of cooling my pot in ice water in a cooler, simply because it was prohibitive for our kitchen - instead, I placed the stock outside on a step for a chilly 45 degree evening.  I realize this wasn't ideal, and would have rather follow Mr. Brown's steps.  However, the stock was incredibly rich and deep, and a welcome accompaniment in soup and sauces.  I will follow this recipe in the future.  Four stars, just for the awkward step of "shocking" the stock.

This recipe is great, but I had better results by cooking it for almost a full day with low heat and hardly allowed it to bubble.  It makes for the clearest stock possible.  I also added a very small amount of olive oil to the bottom of the pot then browned the carcasses for about 10 minutes to break down the meat left on the bone and to get the bones to sweat their delicious nutrition before adding the veggies and water.  Last thing, I always save my vegetable scraps and chicken bones from meals.  We tend to cut the meat off the bones instead of eating chicken with our fingers knowing we're gonna repurpose them for stocks.  Our vegetables vary in our stocks because of this method, but we're sure to add carrots and onions if we don't have enough of those as they're imperative to the flavor of this stock.  Mushrooms are definitely good in this recipe as well for their earthiness.

I make this stock almost exactly as described every Saturday and make a large batch of soup that I take to work all week long. I get a rotisserie chicken for lunch while doing my grocery shopping and use the remains for this. The only difference in my recipe is I add the zest and juice of one lemon and a large hand of ginger. I add some parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (sing if you want) and some crushed red pepper. I think the common mistakes from reading the reviews for bland stock is that this stock is meant to simmer all day UNcovered. Only add water to keep everything underwater. When the stock is done, I strain to either a large pot or my crock pot, whichever is handy at the time. I add a green (chard, kale, collards--whatever looks good at the store), leeks and tomatoes. Adjust the seasoning and viola! Adding some rice wine vinegar helps bring up the pep as well. Happy souping!

https://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/alton-browns-chicken-stock-0239176

Alton Brown's Chicken Stock makes the perfect base for a variety of dishes.

chicken stock

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total: 14 hours, 30 minutes

Servings: 5

Cost: $4.76 /serving

Author : Alton Brown

Ingredients

Instructions

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