Thursday, March 21, 2013

homemade chicken stock

josephine is back! it was so sad when she went away. well... i fired her. just kidding, because that would be dumb. actually, between our kids being sick or being out of town or busy or LIFE, we just couldn't hang. but the Lord has shone his face upon you all today! homemade chicken stock, players.
when she said we were making this, i was like...ewwww, that means there will be bones and touching meat. but i prayed about it and got over it. once you taste this stuff and see how much CHEAPER it is to make on your own, you will get over that too.

so here she is, jospehine waxing eloquent on why you should make chicken stock and how to do it.

Homemade Chicken Stock
First of all, there are normally about 35 ingredients in those chicken bouillon cubes. Let me list the first 6 ingredients for you in those cuties that we sometimes use out of convenience. There's salt, sugar, corn maltodextrin, salt bicarbonate, and hydrolyzed corn protein (a form of MSG), and...oh, more MSG. I don’t see “chicken” among them, do you? It rolls in at 7th in the form of “chicken fat”.

Well, I know there are quite a few of organic brands that produce chicken broth for your convenience and conscience. I'm not opposed to it if you have to go that route in a pinch; However, convenience doesn’t come cheap. It adds up. So I'm going to teach you how to make healthy, flavorful, and rich chicken stock inexpensively. Prepare yourselves, I’m not going to ask you dump a whole chicken, veggies, and even herbs in a big soup pot and simmer and forget about it for hours. You certainly can do that. And it does sound easy. Heck, even Barefoot Contessa does that. But that method is NOT going to make you the most flavorful stock and i'm all about getting the best flavor out of whatever I'm making. Not to mention it costs less. 

(so cheap, right?)

Since we're planning on shredding the meat off the bones and using it in dishes after we make the stock, we should do whatever in our power to preserve the juices and flavor of the meat. How can you achieve that? ROASTING! When you directly put a whole chicken in the pot and boil the heck out of it along with some veggies for a few hours, the chicken will release all of its water to the supposed stock and automatically weaken the stock. And the meat itself will become dry and bland. Consequently, your dishes that have the chicken in will suffer as being dry and mediocre. Not on my watch.  So, why roasting? Roasting equals intensifying. When any cut of meat contains its bones and gets roasted, the meat will have a chance to caramelize and the marrows of the bones to draw out (Jami is grossed out right now knowing all the technical stuff, but she will thank me later). That is how the flavors get developed and that is how you get your money’s worth! 

5 chicken drum sticks, organic preferably 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon chili powder

  • Preheat oven to 400F. Set the oven rack on the lowest position. Line baking sheet with heavy-duty foil.
  • Wash the chicken drumsticks and pat dry them well. Loosen up the skin of each drumstick. Set aside. 
  • Mix the olive oil and all seasonings together to form a paste in a small bowl or on pan. Rub it evenly on each drumstick and underneath the skin. This step guarantees flavorful meat. 

 (pulling the skin back to rub the herbs and spices on)
(once all rubbed on, you put the skin back over)

  • Place the seasoned drumsticks on a baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes. 

  • When the drumsticks are done, remove them to a plate to rest and cool. 
  • Don’t clean your baking sheet right away! Pour 2-3 cups water into the sheet. Let it sit for about 30 minutes or till the brown bits on the baking sheet come off. Gently scrap them off with a spatula. This step is “deglazing” the sheet and picking up all the “fond”. This step also helps clean your baking sheet. Reserve the “fond” water.

Cook’s note-
What is fond? In the culinary arts, it's pretty much a word for the little roasty and brown bits left at the bottom of a pan where something has been cooked. Fond, from the French word for bottom . “Oui Oui!

Because of how it is created, fond is concentrated flavor, and the technique for dislodging the fond from the bottom of the pan and incorporating into a sauce, is called deglazing.

Once the drumsticks are cool enough to handle, shred the meat of the bones to use it for dishes later. 

Reserve the bones for stock. FINALLY, let’s talk stock. 

3-6 quart slow cooker
various sizes of Tupperware containers

5 pieces of drumstick bones and the crispy skin 
3 cloves garlic, halved 
½ onion, quartered
1 carrot, cut into 3-inch pieces
1 celery, cut into 3-inch pieces
a couple of mushroom stems, if available
1 dried bay leave
1 teaspoon pepper corn
2 teaspoons sea salt (you should under-season the chicken stock at this point because you can always add more salt to your dishes later.)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (this helps balance the saltiness of the stock and gives it the sweet taste that MSG gives without the harm.)
Reserved “fond” water
6 cups water

Place everything in the slow cooker. Set it on “low”. I’d recommend starting it before you go to bed. And you will have the smell of fresh and rich chicken stock waking you up instead of coffee the next morning.  Strain the stock and discard the bones and veggies.

Cook’s Notes
  • If you mind the fat on the surface, you could skim it off. 
  • If you don’t use it all or have a few cups left that day, freeze the rest in containers. Plan ahead to thaw it in refrigerator or microwave to defrost before adding it to dishes. 
  • Homemade chicken stock is a lot richer than store-bought (but way cheaper). Do not be alarmed when chilled chicken stock becomes a “jello-y” substance. That is called “Gelatin” and it will melt when warmed.

coming up next, we'll show you some recipes using your chicken!


  1. We need this in our home STAT. We've all been sick with the death sickness of 2013 and I'm actually home with both girls today from school. I haven't been able to even get out to the grocery store to make my homemade chicken noodle soup and we're all missing it terribly!

  2. I'm totally doing this!

    On a side note, Josephine is considerably more mature and classier than I am, because I would have said, "So cheep, right" instead of cheap by the picture of the drumsticks.

    I'm a dork like that :)

  3. I was like "whatever" when you guys said we should make our own chicken stock but now I'm like, ok I'm totally going to do this. ;)

  4. Yum. And i love that you made it in the crock pot!

  5. This sounds incredible and I'm definitely going to make a batch. One question, though. Why no breasts or thighs? Couldn't you use the parts from a whole cut up chicken? Thanks! Best, Beth C.

    1. Yes, you can totally use breasts and thighs. Bone-in breasts and thighs just take longer than drumsticks.

      I'd like to point out that the calories in white meat isn't much less than in dark meat. And dark meat has much more flavor. "Exact calorie counts differ somewhat, but on average say that skinless dark meat has between 15 to 30 more calories per 3 oz. serving than skinless white meat. (It would be interesting to compare calorie counts for CAFO chicken and free-range). But the dark meat also has many more nutrients — including iron and B vitamins. (Julianne Glatz from )

      Also, if you do use the parts from a whole cut up chicken, you need to make sure they are all evenly sized so they can be roasted and cooked at the same time.

      Thanks again for the question, Beth!

      Happy cooking,

  6. when we eat at our favorite 'chicken place,' as my son calls it (a rotissire chicken joint just down the road from us), i always ask to take the bones and skin home along with the leftover meat. the waitresses are used to it now but i got a few weird looks at first. it make the BEST chicken stock and it's using the same meal twice.


  7. I will definitely be doing this! We use chicken stock weekly (in chili and broth based soups). I could make this in the crockpot overnight and then just add the other ingredients in the am and just keep on cooking. I don't know why this seems so revolutionary to me, but I'm beyond excited. About broth. Awesome.

  8. I have never used just drum sticks, but I buy several whole chickens when whole foods puts them on sale and always make broth out of the bones. My husband says one whole chicken just keeps on giving (he doesn't care for chicken in any form)! I am definitly trying this recipe.

  9. I know this is the wrong area to post this, and I hope for you and your children that you will have better luck than me, but I read about your husbands past infidelity. I have been in a similar situation with my now ex-husband. We sought help from the church and he went to sex-addicts annon. meetings. I read books on forgiveness and sex addiction. All he learned was to "be good" for a while and then he learned how "not to get caught", eventually he DID get caught, again. Years after the first time he, he got caught cheating again. My biggest regret is not leaving after the first time.

    All those generic sayings
    "Once a cheater, always a cheater"
    "If he hits you once, he will hit you again"

    Turned out to ring true.

    Don't turn a blind eye to anything.

  10. Love this! And will use! Just wanted to add that you can totally use glass containers and even freeze. I get crunchier every day and am trying to avoid all plastic as much as possible. (since it leeches potentially hazardous stuff at both high heats and low colds, which is applicable to both for this here chicken stock. :) ) I invested in several sizes of Pyrex recently ( and plan to recycle all of my plastic containers soon. (Maybe keep a few for folks to take home leftovers or treats when they visit...)

  11. Thanks for posting this jami! I was wanting to make some good stock for chicken soup but always felt stupid asking (as every housewife should know the easy recipe of homemade chicken soup) and was too lazy to look it up myself. still a little intimidated to attempt, but here we go! day.

  12. also... how much does it make? er... yield?

    1. I would say it yields about 7-9 cups. Hope you give it try, April!!:)

  13. I made this yesterday and WOWZA. The chicken was delicious and flavorful. Will definitely be making the chicken again for a main dish. But do you have a recipe for turning this yummy chicken stock into chicken soup?? Help a sister out, it's Passover and I have a freezer full of homemade Kosher for Passover noodles that need a home!

    1. We are so encouraged that you gave it a try and liked the result!!! That really meant so much.

      We are definitely planning sharing a few recipes to use the yummy chicken and stock in the near future. Please stay tuned!

      Thanks again for letting us know!

  14. I am completely cooking-challenged, so I heart you and Josephine for posting recipes and pictures!! I seriously need the pictures. Thank you and please keep them coming!

  15. Bone broth is thoooo nutritious! I am so excited that you decided to make a lifestyle change. I love food and nutrition and the more and more I learn about food and how the human body works, I discover another level of awesomeness of God. It's mind blowing. Seriously.

    Here's some info on why bone broths are so good for us.

  16. Found this recipe while I was searching for a good creamy tomato soup.Thanks for sharing, it is SO good! Do you (or Josephine), have a beef stock recipe? Or could I just adapt this chicken one?


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