Chicken Stock
The difference between a shop-bought cube and real stock is the difference between salty water and food. Use bones rather than meat: the gelatine from cartilage and joints gives the body that makes cold stock set to a wobble. And one rule decides everything — stock does not boil. The moment it bubbles properly the fat emulsifies and the liquid clouds for good.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 3 h
- Total
- 3 h 15 min
- Servings
- 8
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 40 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: About 2 l of stock
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Start from cold water
Put the bones in a pot and cover with cold water — cold specifically. In hot water the protein sets on the bones straight away and never reaches the stock.
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Step 2: Add the vinegar
Pour in the tablespoon of cider vinegar and leave it 15 minutes while the hob heats. The acid helps draw collagen out of the bones and cannot be tasted afterwards.
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Step 3: Heat and skim
Bring to the first bubbles over medium heat and skim the grey foam off carefully. That is coagulated protein: leave it in and the stock stays cloudy.
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Step 4: Add the vegetables
Add the carrot, onion, celery, peppercorns, bay and herbs. They go in after skimming, or they get in the way of collecting the foam.
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Step 5: Hold it barely trembling
Drop the heat until the surface only shivers and the odd bubble rises. Simmer 3 hours uncovered — the stock should reduce by about a third.
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Step 6: Strain
Strain through a fine sieve lined with muslin. Do not press the bones: pressing pushes cloudiness straight into clear stock.
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Step 7: Cool and lift the fat
Cool it quickly in a bowl of cold water and refrigerate overnight. Next day the fat lifts off in one set disc with a spoon.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Do not salt stock. It almost always reduces further in a soup or sauce, and salted now means over-salted later.
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Variation
Roast the bones at 220 °C for 30 minutes first for a brown stock with deeper flavour, better for sauces and gravies.
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Tip
Collect bones in the freezer over a month: the carcass of a roast chicken, trimmings, wing tips. Two kilos gather faster than you would think.
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Storage
Four days in the fridge, six months in the freezer. Freeze in 250 ml portions, or as cubes in an ice tray.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 8 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 40 kcal | 320 kcal |
| Protein | 5 g | 40 g |
| Fat | 2 g | 16 g |
| Carbohydrates | 1 g | 8 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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