From scratch · Stocks and sauces

Chicken stock

Chicken wings or saved bones simmered slowly with vegetables: about 3 quarts.

✋ 35 min hands-on ⏱ 5 hr 5 min start to finish 🍽 About 3 quarts (12 cups).

Ingredients

  • 3 lb chicken wings, or backs and necks, or the bones of 2 roast chickens
  • 1 yellow onion, quartered, skin on
  • 2 carrots, in chunks
  • 2 stalk celery, in chunks
  • 2 leaf bay leaves
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 4 sprig fresh parsley (optional)
  • 16 cup water, cold

Time

Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.

StepHands-onWaiting
Start the stock and skim it20 min–
Simmer–3 hr 30 min
Strain and cool in shallow containers15 min1 hr
In all35 min4 hr 30 min

How long it keeps

  • Refrigerator: 1 to 2 days (the University of Minnesota’s figure for meat broth; NDSU allows 3 to 4), so freeze what you won’t use soon.
  • Freezer: 2 to 3 months (University of Minnesota). Freeze it in 1- and 2-cup containers, leaving room for it to expand.

Nutrition

Most of the chicken and vegetables are strained out, so the numbers are USDA’s for home-made chicken stock (USDA’s version has a little salt; unsalted stock has less sodium).

Steps

You’ll need: large stockpot (8 quarts), fine strainer, shallow containers.

  1. Put the chicken in the pot with the cold water. Bring it slowly just to a boil over medium heat, then turn it down to the barest simmer. Skim off the gray foam for the first 15 minutes.
  2. Add the vegetables and herbs. Simmer uncovered 3 to 4 hours, with only a bubble or two breaking the surface; add water if the bones peek out.
  3. Strain it, pressing lightly on the solids, and throw the solids away.
  4. Cool it quickly in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours. The next day, lift off the fat that hardens on top.
  5. Leave it unsalted and salt the dish you use it in.
⚖️ ScalingScale the chicken, vegetables and water together; keep the water just covering the bones. A double batch needs a 12- to 16-quart pot and the same simmering time.
🛡 SafetyCool it fast: divide it into shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking (USDA).
🛡 SafetyBring stock to a rolling boil when you reheat it (USDA).
Good to knowSave the bones from a roast chicken in the freezer until you have enough for a pot.

Use it in

🥢 Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry🍲 Chicken Noodle Soup🥩 Skillet Pork Chops🥧 Chicken Pot Pie🐖 Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

🌱 Grow it

You can grow some of what goes into this: onions, carrots and culinary herbs.

🌱 Plan a garden with them →

Sources

  1. Storage times for food in the refrigerator and freezer, University of Minnesota Extension, reviewed 2021. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  2. Food Storage Guide (FN579), NDSU Extension, reviewed January 2023. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  3. Leftovers and Food Safety, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  4. FoodData Central (SR Legacy), USDA Agricultural Research Service. Accessed 2026-10-25.

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