How To Make Chicken Stock in a Stovetop Pressure Cooker

Making chicken stock is one of the top reasons why many people own and love their pressure cooker. Not only will a pressure cooker help you make a big pot of stock in just about one hour, but it will also likely taste richer and more fully flavored than the slow-simmered version, too. Read on for our favorite way to make chicken stock in the pressure cooker.

One of the more satisfying aspects of making chicken stock is its economy, since stock is a fantastic way to use up leftover bones and trimmings. Just store them in a heavy-duty plastic bag the freezer until you have about three pounds’ worth. That said, the meat of the chicken does add extra flavor, so it’s a good idea to pop in a whole, raw drumstick or two (drumsticks are dark meat and dark meat has more flavor).

I like to brown any uncooked chicken pieces for my stock to add additional depth of flavor and color. (Note: Apparently, the Maillard Reaction can occur in the pressure cooker despite the fact that it is a super-moist environment. This is due to the fact that the pressure cooker can raise the boiling temperature above 212°F and into the range where the Maillard Reaction can occur. Because of this, some people skip the browning process altogether and I have noted it as optional step on the recipe.)

When I make stock, I tend to keep it as simple as possible, as often I am making a big batch for the freezer and I want it to be versatile. The aromatics in this recipe can’t be detected on their own, but taken all together, they offer a supporting role to the chicken. This recipe includes carrot and onion, but not celery (I find that celery flavor just disappears in the pressure cooker). The garlic is optional, but I like it for its mellow sweetness. The peppercorns add a little savory punch, and I drop in a few bay leaves for their subtle aroma. The lemon is there to balance out the sweetness a little, and a bit of salt pulls everything together.

Do not cut the vegetables into small pieces, as they might disintegrate and cause a cloudy stock. The pressure cooker can handle larger chunks of vegetables, so just quarter the onion and cut the carrot into large three- to four-inch chunks. The garlic can stay whole — just smash it slightly.

One thing to note here is that while I’m calling this a stock, in strict classic French cuisine terms, it’s actually a seasoned broth. In a home cooking (that is, non-restaurant) environment, the terms are fairly interchangeable, and I find that a fully flavored broth is more versatile for our kind of cooking.

Know the Terms: What’s the Difference? Stock vs. Broth

I only use sustainably-raised meat these days, so the question of organic is moot for me. But if you’re inclined to buy the cheapest factory-raised chickens you can, I would advise you to be careful here. When making stocks, you are boiling the essence out of your ingredients — even more so with pressure cooked stocks since pressure cooking brings liquid way over the temperature for boiling (212°F), usually as high as 250°F.

Here’s a little exercise: after making pressure cooked chicken stock, take a close look at the bones. They will likely be soft and crumbling, close to being dissolved. Now, after seeing that, don’t you want the healthiest, most chemical-free chicken you can get? (This goes for your vegetables as well!) If price is a concern, keep an eye out for sales and freeze until needed.

Since I didn’t have any chicken bones and scraps saved up to make my broth for this post, I purchased three pounds of good, organic chicken drumsticks at Whole Foods, which were on sale for about $2 per pound. I got 3 quarts of broth from this batch, meaning I now have a freezer full of delicious, organic chicken broth for a little over $2 a quart. That’s more economical, more delicious, and way more sustainable than any canned or boxed broth I can purchase in the store. When you include straining, ladling, and clean up, I would say the whole process took about 1 1/2 hours, with more than half of it hands off while the pressure cooker was doing its work.

I used my large 8.5-quart Fissler pressure cooker for this recipe as I wanted to make a lot of stock to store in my freezer. You can make this with a smaller pressure cooker but it will take roughly the same amount of time to make the smaller quantity (maybe a little less to bring up to high pressure and to release the pressure after cooking). See the Recipes Notes for adjusting the amount to make 2 quarts in a 6-quart pressure cooker. If you have an electric pressure cooker, simply consult your manual and adjust the directions to suit your particular make and model.

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(Images: Dana Velden)