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Easy chicken stock

Name: Easy chicken stock
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: A raw carcass and/or other chicken bones or wing (you can also use the carcass from a cooked (roast) chicken); 2 large onions; 3 peeled and halved carrots; 2 halved celery sticks; A few black peppercorns; 2 bay leaves; A few fresh thyme sprigs; A few parsley stalks

Published: 24 Apr 15
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Our easy chicken stock recipe is better than anything you can buy. It won’t contain salt (shop-bought stocks often contain too much) and it’s simple to make.

See our step-by-step guide for how to make meat stock.

Easy
November 2005

Test kitchen approved

Takes 10 minutes to prepare, 2 hours to cook

Our easy chicken stock recipe is better than anything you can buy. It won’t contain salt (shop-bought stocks often contain too much) and it’s simple to make.

See our step-by-step guide for how to make meat stock.

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Ingredients

A raw carcass and/or other chicken bones or wing (you can also use the carcass from a cooked (roast) chicken)
2 large onions
3 peeled and halved carrots
2 halved celery sticks
A few black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
A few fresh thyme sprigs
A few parsley stalks

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Method

Put the chicken carcass and/or other chicken bones into your largest saucepan with the onion, carrots, celery, peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme and parsley stalks and fill with cold water.
Bring just to a simmer, not a raging boil – as this encourages the surface scum to boil back into the stock. Using a ladle, skim off the scum (the froth that floats on the surface) as often as you want.
Cook for about 2-3 hours. Taste it – and taste it often – until the stock has a good depth of flavour.

To strain the stock, pour the contents of the pan through a strainer into a large bowl. Skim off any fat from the surface. If you have time, leave the stock to go cold, then chill overnight. The next day, lift off the solidified fat on top.