Pic of Chicken stock

Chicken stock

Show ingredients

Chicken

Chicken stock

Soup Serves 1 2h 5 min
Chicken stock is a cooking staple – useful for everything from stews to cooking grains. The homemade kind is the best there is – so never throw away the carcass after you've roasted a chicken. If you don't want to use this immediately it freezes well: boil it down to an intense brown stock so that it takes up less space in the freezer.

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken carcass
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 1 leek, chopped
  • 1 carrot
  • 1-2 celery stalks
  • a few parsley stalks or bouquet garni (mixed herb sprigs and a bay leaf, tied with string)
  • a few black peppercorns
  • salt

Method

Prep time: 5 min
Cooking time: 2h

  • Step 1

    Put the chicken carcass in a large saucepan or stock pot with the veg. Add the parsley stalks or bouquet garni, a few black peppercorns and a good pinch of salt.

  • Step 2

    Cover with water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer slowly for 1½ to 2 hours to make a stock, skimming off any fat every now and then.

  • Step 3

    Strain the stock and leave to cool. Freeze what you don't want to use in the next day or two. Use to make soups, stews and in risottos.