Homemade Chicken Stock from Bones and Vegetable Scraps
Don't throw away those chicken bones and veggies scraps! Save them in your freezer until you have enough to make a pot of Homemade Chicken Stock! This healthy bone broth can then be frozen and saved to make soups, sauces and other recipes!
Servings: 4 to 6 quarts
Calories: 341kcal
Equipment
- large soup pot
- strainer
- jars or containers to store stock
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 quarts frozen chicken bones and vegetable scraps including onion, celery and carrot ends and peels
- 4 to 6 quarts water
Instructions
- Add your frozen chicken bones and vegetable scraps to a large pot. Fill the pot with water to cover the scraps. The exact amounts don't matter, just add all the scraps you have saved and fill your pot with water.
- Start on the stovetop over medium heat for about 15 minutes to bring it up to a simmer. Then lower the heat to LOW and simmer, don't boil, for about 4 hours. Do not cover.
- Allow stock to cool on the stovetop at least 30 minutes before straining and ladling into jars or other freezer containers. Only fill jars ¾'s full to allow for expansion as they freeze. Filling jars too full can cause them to crack! Cool jars completely, overnight in the fridge, before transferring to the freezer.
- To use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Kitchen scraps to save in the freezer for stock - any cooked chicken bones or carcasses, including rotisserie chicken bones, ends or peels from onion, carrot, celery, and tomato. Extra veggie scraps such as ends from asparagus, Brussel sprouts, bell pepper, green beans, zucchini, butternut squash, broccoli or cauliflower. Stems from kale, parsley or other herbs (not cilantro or mint).
- Keep your pot of stock just barely bubbling, not totally still but not boiling. This is usually low to medium low heat.
- Store chicken stock in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or freeze for up to 6 months.
- Stock can be stored in any freezer save containers but I prefer glass jars.
- Glass jars don't like sudden temperature changes! So allow your stock to cool at least 30 minutes before ladling it into the jars. Only fill jars ¾'s of the way full to allow room for expansion. Then allow those jars to cool completely in the fridge overnight before transferring them to the freezer. This allows the jars to slowly go from hot to warm to cold to frozen, increasing the likelihood that they won't crack.
- Thaw overnight in the fridge to use.
- Nutrition info is for 1 quart of stock and is an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 1353mg | Potassium: 994mg | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 28IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg