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Welcome to our world of culinary mastery, where we share the secret to making restaurant worthy chicken stock at home. Suppose you’ve wondered how top-tier chefs infuse their dishes with rich, robust, almost magical flavors. Well, you’re in luck. We will reveal the key ingredients and secrets to making restaurant worthy homemade chicken stock.
In this culinary journey, we’ll not only demystify the art of making restaurant quality chicken stock at home. We will also empower you with the knowledge and techniques to elevate your cooking to a new level using stocks and sauces.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Making quality chicken stock at home is all about the ingredients and techniques you use. There is something special about recreating restaurant worthy chicken stock at home.
Those gourmet flavors that upscale restaurants achieve, you can recreate those flavors in the comfort of your kitchen. The foundation of many exceptional dishes, whether a hearty soup, a velouté sauce, or a savory risotto, often begins with a well-crafted chicken stock.
Restaurant Worthy Chicken Stock Ingredient Deep Dive
In the pursuit of creating restaurant worthy chicken stock at home. It’s essential to understand the components that make up this liquid gold. The quality and combination of ingredients can make or break the stock, and as any seasoned chef will tell you, it’s the attention to detail.
Chicken Stock Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.2lb) Chicken frames, wing tips, necks, or whole chicken.
- 2 cups Mirepoix roughly chopped carrots, celery, and onions.
- White wine (optional).
- Fresh herbs thyme, parsley, and sage.
- 5 Garlic cloves
- 2 Bay leaves fresh or dried
- 1 tbsp Whole peppercorns
- Cold water, enough to cover all the ingredients.
- Optional ingredients include star anise, fresh ginger, fennel seeds, or celeriac.
- The Power Of Poultry —The chicken is a crucial ingredient in chicken stock. Well, chicken bones or frames, to be exact. They are relatively cheap or even free if you talk to the right people. I will also use chicken necks, wing tips, or leftover carcasses from leftover roast chicken.
To reduce food waste, you can use a whole chicken to prepare homemade restaurant worthy chicken stock. Once the flavor has been extracted into the chicken broth, the cooked chicken meat can make a tasty meal.
- Flavor Enhancers — Aromatics like onions, carrots, celery, and leeks. These aromatic vegetables provide the base notes of flavor to your chicken stock. These are roughly chopped. This is called a mirepoix and is the best way to prepare these vegetables for the best results.
- The Aromatics — Beyond the basics, aromatic ingredients like garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, fresh thyme, rosemary, or sage can take your stock to the next level. These elements provide the complexity and depth of flavor that distinguishes restaurant worthy chicken stock.
- The Role Of Liquid — Cold water and white wine are what I use when making chicken stock. The wine adds a subtle fruity acidity note to the chicken stock. The wine is optional.
By understanding these components, you’ll be better equipped to craft a restaurant worthy chicken stock that forms the foundation for countless gourmet dishes.
Chefs Pro Tip — Save those brown onion skins. When incorporated into chicken stock, they not only infuse flavor. They also lend a beautiful, deep brown color.
Chicken Stock The Fail Proof Method
There are two types of chicken stock, white and brown. White chicken stock is essentially simmering all the ingredients in a large pot without color. I’m going to share with you the method of making rich brown chicken stock.
- Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F) — For a convection oven 185°C (360°F) — Gas mark 4.5.
Roasting Chicken Bones
- Roasting The Bones — First, place the bones into a shallow baking tray in a single layer. Don’t add any oil. Place the tray into the oven and roast until caramelized and brown. This should take about an hour.
Chefs Pro Tip — Roasting the chicken bones and caramelizing the vegetables do two things. Firstly, it adds flavor to the stock, giving it a well-rounded roast chicken taste. Secondly, it adds a deep golden color to the stock.
Caramelizing Browning Vegetables
- Caramelizing The Vegetables — Place chicken bones into a large pot after roasting them. Place the baking tray onto the stove top and heat it to medium-high. Add the vegetables and sauté until they have caramelized. Now deglaze with the white wine or water. Add this to the stock pot.
Chefs Pro Tip — Deglazing the baking tray removes any caramelized bites from the bottom of the tray. These tasty pieces will add flavor to the finished stock.
Herbs And Aromatics
- Filling The Stock Pot — Add fresh herbs, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves to the stock pot. Add the cold water to cover the ingredients and bring to a boil. You can make a bouquet garni of herbs before adding to the stock pot. This makes for easy removal.
Cooking Out The Stock
- Cooking The Stock — Once the stock comes to a boil, turn down the heat to a low simmer. Impurities and fat will start to rise to the top of the pot. It is essential to remove this with a spoon. Simmer the chicken stock for 4–5 hours.
Chefs Pro Tip — Skimming the stock or removing the impurities and fat from the top. While skimming is vital to a clean, clear stock. It will keep it from becoming cloudy and gritty.
Finishing And Straining The Stock
- Finishing The Stock — After 4 or 5 hours, the stock will smell like roasted chicken. Carefully strain the stock into a stainless steel bowl using a fine sieve, or muslin cloth. You should get about 1–1 ½ liters of finished restaurant worthy chicken stock. Let the stock cool and place it into the refrigerator uncovered. You want the stock to breathe.
- Once the stock is cold, you can freeze it into small batches for later use. I place small amounts (round 1 cup into snap lock bags and freeze). That you’ve got homemade restaurant worthy chicken stock on hand.
Removing Access Fat — Suppose fat is still on top of the finished stock. When it is cooled, the fat will harden and be easily removed with a spoon from the cold stock.
Why Is Homemade Chicken Stock Better Than Store-Bought?
Homemade chicken stock is better than store-bought because there is no salt added. Store-bought chicken stock has a high salt content, and you can taste it. Homemade chicken stock allows you to control the quality of ingredients, intensify flavors, and tailor it to your preferences. It’s the foundation for exceptional dishes, so you should have an exceptional stock.
Can I Use Any Chicken Parts For The Stock?
Opt for chicken bones and carcasses. However, you can use necks, wing tips, drumstick knuckles, or even leftover roast chicken carcasses. I prefer to use raw chicken bones and carcasses. They impart a well-rounded flavor and richness to the stock.
Should I Roast The Chicken Bones Before Making Stock?
Roasting chicken bones enhances the depth of flavor and adds rich color by caramelizing the chicken bones. It’s an extra step that elevates the complexity of your stock.
However, you won’t need to roast the chicken bones if you want a white chicken stock for soups or pale sauces. You will still get an excellent flavor from clear or white chicken stock.
Some chefs prefer white chicken stock; it depends on what you will use the stock for.
Brown Chicken Stock — Brown sauces for roasted poultry, casseroles, or hearty poultry-based soups.
White Chicken Stock — Risottos, vegetable-based soups, stews, or veloutés.
Cooking Is A Science And A Skill
Cooking is a science and a skill that requires a deep understanding of both the technical and creative aspects. Cooking is also a matter of precise measurements and ratios.
For example, baking is particularly sensitive to accurate measurements and temperatures. A slight deviation in the amount of an ingredient or cooking degrees can result in a completely different outcome. So, to help you here is a handy little unit converter tool for cooking without guesswork.
The Secret to Restaurant Worthy Chicken Stock at Home
SERVINGS: | 50 portions
PIN PRINT RECIPEDESCRIPTION
DISH SUMMARY
Bring quality to your meals with our secret to restaurant worthy chicken stock made right at home. Master the art of making chicken stock. Impress your diners.
Ingredients
- 1 kg Chicken frames wing tips, necks, or whole chicken
- 2 cups Mirepoix roughly chopped carrots, celery, and onions (leeks are optional).
- 2 cups White wine optional
- Fresh herbs thyme, sage, and parsley
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Peppercorns whole
- Cold water enough to cover the bones
- Optional ingredients include star anise, fresh ginger, fennel seeds, or celeriac
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to
200 °C — For a convection oven 
185 °C — Gas mark 4.5.Roasting The Bones — First, place the bones into a shallow baking tray in a single layer. Don’t add any oil. Place the tray into the oven and roast until brown. This should take about an hour.
- Caramelizing The Vegetables — Place chicken bones into a large pot after roasting them. Place the baking tray onto the stove top and heat it to medium-high. Add the vegetables and sauté until they have caramelized. Now deglaze with the white wine or water. Add this to the stock pot.
- Filling The Stock Pot — Add fresh herbs, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves to the stock pot. Add the cold water to cover the ingredients and bring to a boil. You can make a bouquet garni of herbs before adding to the stock pot. This makes for easy removal.
- Cooking The Stock — Once the stock comes to a boil, turn down the heat to a low simmer. Impurities and fat will start to rise to the top of the pot. It is essential to remove this with a spoon. Simmer the chicken stock for 4–5 hours.
- Finishing The Stock — After 4 or 5 hours, the stock will smell like roasted chicken. Carefully strain the stock into a stainless steel bowl using a fine sieve, or muslin cloth. You should get about 1–1 ½ liters of finished restaurant worthy chicken stock. Let the stock cool and place it into the refrigerator uncovered. You want the stock to breathe.
Chef Tips
CHICKEN STOCK FAIL PROOF TIPS
- Onion Skins — Save those brown onion skins. When incorporated into chicken stock, they not only infuse flavor. They also lend a beautiful, deep brown color.
- Roasting And Caramelizing — Roasting the chicken bones and caramelizing the vegetables do two things. Firstly, it adds flavor to the stock, giving it a well-rounded roast chicken taste. Secondly, it adds a deep golden color to the stock.
- Deglazing — Deglazing the baking tray removes any caramelized bites from the bottom of the tray. These tasty pieces will add flavor to the finished stock.
- Removing Impurities — Skimming the stock or removing the impurities and fat from the top. While skimming is vital to a clean, clear stock. It will keep it from becoming cloudy and gritty.
- Cooling — Once the stock is cold, you can freeze it into small batches for later use. I place small amounts (round 1 cup into snap lock bags and freeze). That way you’ve got homemade restaurant worthy chicken stock on hand.
- Removing Access Fat — Suppose fat is still on top of the finished stock. When it is cooled, the fat will harden and be easily removed with a spoon from the cold stock.
Nutrition
Serving>1portion | Calories>13kcal | Carbohydrates>1g | Protein>0.05g | Fat>0.01g | Saturated Fat>0.003g | Polyunsaturated Fat>0.003g | Monounsaturated Fat>0.001g | Sodium>8mg | Potassium>11mg | Fiber>0.4g | Sugar>1g | Vitamin A>5IU | Vitamin C>1mg | Calcium>3mg | Iron>0.1mg
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