Crock Pot Chicken Stock

I use a lot more chicken stock these days than I used to. My hunch is that as my cooking repertoire has evolved, and I’ve moved toward more seasonal and less processed food, chicken stock has been a natural part of that. I definitely make more soup than I used to, and I’ve learned to use a splash of stock in vegetables for flavor. I use it instead of chicken broth or bouillon in recipes calling for either of those, because the flavor of good stock has much more depth. Risotto has also become a favorite dish, and it requires quite a bit of stock. For a while, not a weekend passed without my shopping cart containing a box or two of organic chicken stock.

After a few months of buying it by the box, I decided it was time to learn to make my own. I make roast chicken pretty often, to eat on its own or to add to other dishes like Chicken Curry with Coconut, Basil, and Mango, White Bean and Chicken Chili, or my friend Mary’s Crock Pot Moroccan Chicken. I knew stock was a by-product of roast chicken; I’d just never attempted my own. I figured it would be more economical, at the very least, considering I was paying about $3.50 a quart for the organic stuff at the store. And really, how hard could it be?

I did have initial visions of spending a whole afternoon hovering over a large pot of simmering stock, and figured I might not be able to leave the house while the stock-making ensued. But after doing a little homework, I theorized that maybe, just maybe chicken stock was something I could do in the crock pot. I didn’t find a recipe that specifically told me this was doable, but I had gotten so into using my crock pot to “assemble it and leave it,” with success that it was starting to seem like everything could be made in the slow cooker.

And you know what? It worked. All it involves is throw-away ingredients and itemsI keep on hand, a little effort, and a day in the slow cooker. Voila: chicken stock. Better-tasting chicken stock, in fact, than anything you can buy in a store, organic or otherwise.

Making my own stock has become something I do almost habitually whenever I have the remains of a roasted or rotisserie chicken on hand. I load everything into my crock pot’s removable pan the night before, put it in the fridge, then put it into the heated base in the morning, turn it on low, and let it go all day. By the time I get home from work, I have a house that smells great and a few quarts of stock waiting to be strained.

If I’ll use the stock within the next week or two, I store it in a jar in the fridge. If I want to store it long-term, I ladle it into quart-size freezer bags and freeze it flat. I generally have a stack of quarts in the freezer, and rarely have to buy stock anymore.

Crock Pot Chicken Stock

Carcass (bones and bits of meat, but no skin) of 1 or 2 chickens
1 large sweet yellow onion, peeled and quartered
3 carrots, unpeeled, cut into thirds
3 stalks celery with leaves, cut into thirds
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the blade of a knife
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Add all ingredients to the pan of a 5-quart slow cooker. Cover with water, up to about 1 or 2 inches below the rim. Place in heated base. Cook 8-10 hours on low.

Using a large slotted spoon, scoop out most of the vegetables and chicken bones, and discard. Pour the stock through a mesh strainer into a large bowl, and discard all the remaining bits of flesh and bone. Stock should be thick but smooth.

Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator, or freeze in zippered freezer bags. The stock may also be canned in mason jars with sealed lids if you desire.

Makes about two quarts.