Chicken stock

I love making my own chicken stock at home, the quality is much higher than store bought from a box, plus much healthier. It is super simple to make, and you can get chicken bones from most butchers! I get mine from my local Whole Foods and they are very cheap!

Let us also quickly go over what stock versus broth is. Stock is the simmering of bones with aromatics like onions and carrots. Broth is that, plus you are simmering some meat. Broth is typically more flavorful, but I tend to use stock for more things since the flavor is more neutral. Both are great and have their purposes.

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs chicken bones
• 1 lb chicken feet (you can omit this if you cannot find them)
• salt
• Avocado oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• a few sprigs of thyme
• 10-20 peppercorns
• water to cover

Preparation:

STEP 1.

Preheat the oven to 450*F. Place your chicken bones and backs on a sheet tray and roast in the oven until golden brown – around 45 minutes. This adds a depth of flavor that is so tasty!

STEP 2.

In a pot, add the bones and the remainder of the ingredients, make sure you cover with water, but only just enough so the bones are covered by 1 inch of water. Add salt all over and place stovetop. If you are using a slow cooker, do the same with the slow cooker and add to the slow cooker pot, not the stove.

STEP 3.

Bring the pot up to a very low bubbling simmer, like very low amount of bubbles, and place a lid on it. Simmer, covered, at this low temp for 6 hours. If you are using a slow cooker, turn the slow cooker on low and simmer overnight, 12 hours.

STEP 4.

Take the pot off the heat after the hours are up and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Store in glass containers to cool, then you can transfer to plastic if you want to freeze and store. It lasts in the freezer forever, and the fridge for up to 6 days.