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I've never made stock before, but now that it's cold and I have the time (yipee!) I am eager to give it a go. I've been saving a chicken carcass (just the backbone and ribs) in my freezer to make stock since, like, June. Is it still good? (I have no concept of how long things keep in the freezer.) Also, is that enough chicken parts to get a decent flavor in the stock or should I hold off until I have a whole carcass? Thanks!!!

I make my chicken stock often because it's relay convenient to have it while your cooking almost anything, from rice to different sauces. I like to "fry" onions before adding it to other vegetables. Just cut the onion into wedges and put them on frying pan (no oil needed) to get brown for few minutes. It will give more richer taste to the stock.

does anyone have a tip for getting your home-made stock to end up clear? i've tried it a few times, and always end up dreading using the gross, cloudy liquid that results. to be honest i like the store-bought better! i also have trouble skimming the fat off.

bsc, are you by any chance leaving your stock at a rolling boil for the duration of the cooking time, or adding any of the giblets? Both of those things can make a stock cloudy.

Can anyone explain to me why my stock is not very flavorful? Even when i make chicken soup I put in an entire, whole chicken and a bunch of vegetables and let the thing simmer for like 4 hours and still wind up dropping 1 or 2 buillon cubes in there to "round it out" ... otherwise it tastes too watery. I would assume i was putting too much water in, but i'm just putting in enough water to cover everything in the pot! I'm stumped!

I found the easiest way to skim off the fat is to do it AFTER it is frozen. The fat is solid, and much easier to scoop out.

One of the best and easiest ways of ridding your stock of fat is to strain it and let it sit in the fridge overnight. You'll have a thick waxy layer of fat on top of the stock which you can simply grab and toss in the garbage or use as schmaltz (chicken fat).

A frozen chicken carcass isn't really enough to get a good stock. You could use it but I would fortify the broth with a few chicken legs and thighs.

One of the best ways to get more flavor in your stock is to roast the bones or chicken first. The caramelized skin and bits of sticky gelatin stuck to the pan can be released with a little water or wine and poured into the stock pot. Same goes for the veggies. Roast those too. But a whole chicken after 4 hours should definitely yield a very flavorful broth. Let me ask this, did you add salt? Also a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a bay leaf, some peppercorns, a head of garlic sliced in half, these will punch up the flavor as well.

thanks, art. i'll take your advice and pick up some legs and thighs to throw in there, too.

mh330,

It probably needs a good amount of salt! That's probably mostly what you're getting from the bullion cubes.

Stock does taste pretty boring until you've finished seasoning it. A lot of people recommend that you season the end food rather than the stock because you don't always know what you're going to be using the stock in.

Just a note to add....my boyfriend and I make chicken stock quite a bit. I do not like eating onions but love the flavor. Instead of quartering onions for soup stock we run them through the food processor and add them to the stock. It seems to release a lot more flavor and you don't have to worry about adding onions to whichever soup you end up making :-)

mh330 - Is the chicken cooked before you drop it in?

One more thing...

If you are really going for a rich, strong stock, make it twice.

When you strain the first stock, add it to another pot with more bones and more vegetables.

A double stock is usually good enough to have on its own (think perfect comfort food when you've got a cold.)

If you clarified that stock (another thread) you would have a consomme.

i like making stock periodically. i save the carcass from the store bought roasted chickens from the grocery in the freezer until i have three or four, in a bag along with wilted celery leaves, leftover onion halves and carrots. and always add some sherry and a little fresh ginger.

I make chicken stock every time I buy a roasted chicken--which is at least once a week. While preparing dinner I simply take all the meat off the carcass, and then place bones, gizzards, etc., into a stock pot, along with carrots, celery and onion, and any other veg's I have on hand. I also include carrot greens. While it is possible to use veg's that have had better weeks, that's not going to happen at home, partly because we eat two or three veg's with every dinner and seldom have leftovers, and also because fresher veg's make better stock. I cook this during dinner and afterwards, for a total of two hours or more. Always use some salt...you can reduce salt perhaps entirely when you get round to cooking with the stock...and treat yourself.

The last time I made chicken stock, I used the skin and bones from a rotisserie chicken I bought at Sam's. I added fresh herbs, garlic and shallots and boy howdy, that was the best tasting stock I ever made. Very easy too.

I am going to take the purist approach here, but stock should be fairly tasteless and clear, made with raw bones and absolutely no salt. If you add chicken meat you start heading towards broth category, if you add salt even more so. Stock is really meant to be a base for sauces and soups - added to create the "umami" and create mouth feel and depth, not add specific flavor (especially chicken flavor). This effect is created by the gelatin stored in the marrow of the raw bones and is one of the most magical ingredients you can add to a dish.

If you are using stock as a soup base, you should be adding more moisture, vegetables and meat (whether it is actual chicken, beef, fish, etc.) to create the flavor many of you mention missing. This creates a very rich and flavorful broth for the soup. Stock is really not meant to be consumed on it's own.

Because in many recipes for sauces and even soups the stock is reduced, adding salt to stock may result in too much salt in the end product once the water has been reduced out. This is also true if you create stock with flavor - and although reducing a flavored stock may result in incredible flavor, it might not be what the recipe intended when it called for typical (flavorless) stock as a base.

Also - fish, beef and other meat can be used to create stock. I've never made it myself, but a vegan chef friend makes incredible vegetarian stock.

Do not throw your Parmigiano crusts, except in the stock!
Any stock made at Oliviera has it.
My grand mother ate it after on a toast.
The parmigiano gives a very delicate and incomparable 'fumé' touch to the stock. You'll know the difference if you taste the stock with or without the crust.
(BTW, always share your secret family tips; you'll grow from it by pleasing others.)