Homemade stock is one of those things that separates good home cooking from great home cooking. It takes almost no active effort, costs nearly nothing if you save scraps, and produces a depth of flavor that boxed broth cannot match. A pot of homemade chicken stock turns a simple risotto into something that tastes like it came from a real kitchen.
The terms stock and broth get used interchangeably, and for home cooking purposes, the distinction barely matters.
Technically, stock is made with bones and connective tissue, producing a gelatin-rich liquid. Broth is made with meat, producing a thinner, more immediately flavorful liquid. Most home-cooked versions fall somewhere in between, and they are all delicious.
Chicken Stock
Chicken stock is the most versatile and the easiest to make. You can use a whole chicken carcass from a roast, raw chicken backs and necks from the butcher (very cheap), or a combination of bones you have saved in the freezer.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 pounds of chicken bones, carcasses, or parts
- 1 large onion, quartered (skin on is fine)
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- A few sprigs of fresh parsley or thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- A teaspoon of whole black peppercorns
- Cold water to cover
Method
Put everything in a large stockpot and add enough cold water to cover by about an inch.
Starting with cold water is important because it extracts more gelatin and flavor from the bones than hot water.
Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Do not boil. Boiling makes the stock cloudy and can give it a slightly greasy taste. You want lazy bubbles breaking the surface, not a rolling boil. Skim any foam or scum that rises to the surface during the first 20 minutes.
Simmer for 3 to 4 hours.
You can go longer, up to 6 hours, for a more concentrated stock, but 3 hours produces excellent results. The kitchen will smell incredible.
Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl or another pot. Discard the solids. Let the stock cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. The fat will solidify on top and you can lift it off easily. The stock underneath should jiggle like gelatin when cold, which means you extracted plenty of collagen from the bones.
Beef Stock
Beef stock follows the same principles but benefits from an extra step: roasting the bones first.
Raw beef bones produce a mild, light-colored stock. Roasted bones produce a dark, rich, deeply flavored stock that is far more useful.
Roasting
Spread beef bones (marrow bones, knuckle bones, oxtail, or whatever your butcher has) on a sheet pan. Roast at 425 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes, turning once, until they are deeply browned. Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pan for the last 15 minutes so they caramelize too.
This browning step, called the Maillard reaction, is what gives beef stock its dark color and complex flavor.
Transfer everything to the stockpot, deglaze the roasting pan with a cup of water to dissolve the browned bits stuck to the bottom, and pour that liquid into the pot as well. Those browned bits are concentrated flavor.
Simmer Time
Beef stock benefits from a longer simmer than chicken.
Aim for 6 to 8 hours. Beef bones are denser and take longer to release their gelatin and minerals. You can also make this in a slow cooker on low for 12 to 24 hours if you prefer a hands-off approach.
Vegetable Stock
Vegetable stock is the fastest and simplest to make. It does not require long simmering because there are no bones to break down. Thirty to forty-five minutes is plenty.
Use a variety of vegetables for the best flavor.
Onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic, leeks, and parsley stems are all excellent. Avoid brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) because they make the stock taste sulfurous. Beets will dye it red. Potatoes make it starchy and cloudy.
Saute the vegetables in a tablespoon of olive oil for 5 minutes to develop some flavor before adding water. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, strain, and use.
The Scrap Bag Method
The most economical way to make stock is to save scraps as you cook throughout the week. Keep a gallon zip-top bag in the freezer. Whenever you trim an onion, peel a carrot, cut celery, debone chicken, or have parsley stems left over, toss them in the bag.
When the bag is full, dump it into a pot with water and make stock.
This approach costs essentially nothing because you are using trimmings that would otherwise go in the trash. It also means you always have stock-making materials on hand without a special trip to the store.
Storage
Refrigerated stock keeps for about 5 days. For longer storage, freeze it. Ice cube trays work well for small amounts (a few tablespoons for deglazing or sauteing).
Quart-size freezer bags laid flat work for larger amounts. Frozen stock keeps for 4 to 6 months with good quality.
Label your bags with the type of stock and the date. Chicken and beef stock look similar when frozen, and you do not want to discover you grabbed the wrong one after you have already started a recipe.
Tips for Better Stock
Do not add salt during cooking. Stock is a base ingredient, and you will season the final dish.
If you salt the stock and then reduce it in a sauce, the saltiness concentrates and can become overpowering.
A splash of vinegar (about a tablespoon) added to the water helps extract minerals and gelatin from the bones. You will not taste the vinegar in the finished stock.
Strain carefully. A fine-mesh strainer catches most particles. For crystal-clear stock, strain through cheesecloth as well.
Clear stock is not necessary for most home cooking, but it makes for a more elegant soup or consomme.
Making stock is one of those fundamental kitchen skills that pays dividends in everything you cook. Soups taste richer. Sauces have more body. Rice and grains cooked in stock instead of water have noticeably more flavor. And the process itself is meditative. There is something satisfying about turning bones and scraps into liquid gold.