Basic Chicken Stock

Confession. I have a lot of lazy bones in my body. I still have them and they take control of my mind once in a while. I used to use stock granules and bouillons in my early cooking days. Pop one bouillon in the soup or sprinkle granule in your stir fried dish and you will have fuss free, easy and flavorful meals. As I grow older and wiser, I began to realize kitchen cheats won’t take a dish far. Tear those convenience and flavors apart, commercial stocks are just compressed dehydrated vegetable and meat pumped with enhancer and artificial flavoring. Besides, having to see family members and guest downing water after every meal is not a pleasant sight!

Making your own chicken stock is easy and save cost too! I always buy whole chicken and portion them accordingly. I will keep the legs, ribs, neck frozen and once I gather enough, I will make them into wholesome stocks. Alternatively, you can get chicken ribs from the morning wet market for a good price. If you have a sweet mouth, you might get them cheaper or extra from the poultry man. 

Basic Chicken Stock

Yield:  1.5litre of stock

Prep Time:  3 hours

1.5 -2kg Chicken carcasses

2 medium sized carrot

1 onion - quartered

2 rib/stalk celery  - cut into 2 inches length

1 stalk of leek – cut into 2 inches length

3 cloves of garlic - bruised

8 - 10 pieces of whole black pepper – lightly crushed

3 litres of water

The work flow

1. Roast chicken carcasses in oven at 250C for 30 – 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: This step is for a fuller rich stock. For a milder version, you can skip this step.

2. Bring 3 litres of water to a boil

3. Add in roasted chicken carcasses, carrot, onion, celery, leek, garlic and black pepper.

4. You will find brown bits of dried chicken essences on the roasting pan. Don’t discard unless they are burnt. Add water to the pan and put it on your stove. The bits will dissolve and add them to the boiling stock.   

5. Close lid and reduce to medium heat. Let it boil for 2 hours.

6.  Let the stock cool before straining and portioning. To maximize the yield, squeeze the vegetables for those "hidden" liquid.

Here are some of the storage options.
1. Portion stock using ice cube tray. Once set in freezer, pop them out and store them in zip lock bags

2. Portion stock base on 200ml in zip lock bags. Freeze and store away for further use.