Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
No Comments Sep 24, 2023
Updated May 08, 2024
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Save money and have a go at making your own slow cooker chicken stock. Homemade chicken stock just got a lot easier thanks to this easy recipe. You only need a few ingredients like chicken, water, fresh vegetables, and a few herbs. This dump-and-go recipe yields a delicious stock that can be eaten by itself or added to enhance your favorite soup.
Use some of this stock to make Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup or Slow Cooker Curried Chicken Noodle Soup.
Table of Contents
Can I make chicken stock in a crockpot?
Absolutely! And it’s honestly the next best thing to Instant Pot chicken stock. The best part about using your slow cooker is you can throw everything in and let it cook for hours. The cooking time is quite long for this recipe, but it’s totally necessary when making your own homemade chicken stock.
I like to call this overnight chicken stock because it will need to cook for at least 12 hours. This means you can start it before bed and have homemade chicken broth in the morning. It’s a great recipe for making canned chicken broth to keep on hand for enjoying on cold days or grabbing to include in other recipes. Oh course this chicken broth is wonderful in slow cooker chicken noodle soup!
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken scraps: Anything works for this, especially leftover chicken bones with meat neck, legs, ribs, and the chicken carcass.
- Water: You’ll need just enough to fill the crockpot
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Helps balance the acidity as the stock cooks.
- Vegetables: At the very least, you’ll want to use celery ribs, carrots, and a sweet onion. These will help add the veggie flavors to the broth during the cooking process.
- Herbs: Fresh bay leaves, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, and fresh parsley help enhance the flavors of the stock.
- Garlic: What’s a good stock without garlic cloves? These also help enhance the flavor of the broth.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Load the crockpot with all the vegetables and other remaining ingredients. Add enough water to fill the basin and almost cover the ingredients.
Step Two – Cover and turn the cook mode to the LOW setting for 12 hours.
Step Three – Use a slotted spoon or colander to remove the bones and veggies from the crockpot. Discard them.
Step Four – Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer or fine sieve into mason jars or other airtight containers you already have on hand. Enjoy!
What are some ways to use chicken broth?
There are lots of recipes that start with chicken broth, but I bet you’ve never thought to use them when making:
- black eyed peas (try my slow cooker black eyed peas)
- rice
- grits
- quinoa
- turnip and/or collard greens (here is my slow cooker collard greens recipe)
- mashed potatoes
The next time you whip up one of those tasty dishes, don’t forget to use your own slow cooker stock!
Recipe FAQs
No. This recipe is not safe for canning for there are certain requirements that make a recipe for canning.
Once you’ve strained the stock into the jars, allow it to cool completely. Seal the jars and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Yes. You can make chicken stock and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. Allow the stock to thaw in the fridge before using it.
Yes! You can use a whole chicken, uncooked chicken, dark meat, thigh bones, wing tips, any and all of the edible meat, and the like. When making stock or broth, you can use just about anything you prefer.
That’s not necessary; however, if you don’t want to handle hot jars, you can certainly let it cool down a bit.
Crockpot chicken stock is best enjoyed warm on its own or as part of a soup or stew. Let it cool slightly and enjoy with your favorite bread.
Not necessarily. Bone broth utilizes mostly bones whereas stock and broth use bones, cartilage, and anything left over.
The collagen from the carcass of the chicken leaches out into the stock, making it delicious and nutritious. When the stock is chilled, the collagen causes it to solidify. Don’t worry, it will turn to liquid again once heated.
If you don’t have a crockpot, you can make homemade chicken stock in a Dutch oven on the stovetop. The downside to this method is that you will have to leave your stove on for many, many hours which can be a little dangerous. The Dutch oven will also take up valuable stovetop space.
You don’t have to but it will help pull the nutrients and collagen out of the bones and tendons of the chicken carcass. The apple cider vinegar will not negatively impact the flavor of the stock. If anything, it will add a nice depth to it that you wouldn’t get otherwise.
Wondering how you’re going to get all those chicken bones? Well, the best way (in my opinion) is to roast a whole chicken, enjoy the meat, and save the carcass for stock. If you don’t want to roast a whole chicken, you can buy chicken parts at the store, ask the butcher for chicken bones, and/or use the carcass of a store-bought rotisserie chicken after you’ve enjoyed the meat.
Some people will just throw a whole chicken in the crockpot to make stock. While you can totally do this (it’ll be delicious and you’ll get lots of tasty cooked meat out of the deal), you won’t get as many benefits from the bones. The meat will get in the way of the collagen and other nutrients escaping the bones and seeping into the stock.
Absolutely. Strain, seal the cooled stock in jars (or other freezer safe containers), and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. Allow the stock to thaw in the fridge before using it.
Yes, a crockpot liner can be used to make chicken stock.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
Equipment
- Slotted spoon or colander
- Fine mesh sieve
- Jars – I like 16-ounce wide-mouth mason jars but feel free to pick your favorite.
Ingredients
- chicken bones with meat, neck, legs, ribs, carcass (anything works!)
- water – enough to fill the crockpot
- 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 4 celery ribs, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 sweet onion, sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 4 garlic cloves
Instructions
- Load the crockpot. Load all of the ingredients into the crockpot. Add enough water to fill the basin and almost cover the ingredients.
- Cook. Cook on low for 12 hours.
- Strain. Use a slotted spoon or colander to remove the bones and veggies from the crockpot. Discard them. Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve into jars.
Sarah’s Notes
- Ingredients – Stock utilizes the bones and cartilage of the chicken along with any leftover meat clinging to it. By comparison, broth uses just the meat (no bones, etc.).
- Time – Chicken stock is cooked for much longer than broth (12-24 hours compared to 1-3)
- Nutrition – The longer cook time used to make stock allows the bone marrow and collagen in the carcass to release into the liquid, filling it with awesome nutrients that are good for your bones, joints, digestive health, hair, skin, nails, and more. You don’t get these benefits from broth (no bones/cartilage).
- Consistency – The collagen in stock gives it a thicker consistency than broth. Check out the section below titled “Why does it turn to a solid when it’s chilled?” for more information.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
