Homemade Stock Recipe

With soup season officially upon us, I wanted to share some great tips and recipes for homemade stock, courtesy of my friend and resource for all things delicious and healthful, Pamela Salzman. Making your own stock can take some effort, but the payoff can be so worth it, both in terms of flavor and nutrition. Here, some tips for making and freezing your own, as well as some good homemade options available for purchase, just in case.

Chicken Stock

For a flavorful and nutrient-rich chicken stock (Pamela’s recipe here), she shared the following tips:

Bones – Use fresh chicken parts such as backs, necks, and wings.

Cold water – Start with cold water as it will draw the maximum amount of flavor from the bones.

A gentle simmer – Using this will result in a clear broth.

A little acidity (such as vinegar) – This will draw lots of minerals and amino acids from the bones.

Time – The longer the stock simmers, the more flavor you will have. For chicken stock, cook uncovered at a gentle simmer for at least 4 to 5 hours.

Turkey Stock

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to share some tips for turkey stock (Pamela’s recipe here). She shared that the best part about making stock from a leftover Thanksgiving turkey is that there’s very little work involved – minimal skimming before the liquid comes to a boil and hardly any fat that rises to the surface the next day. And, if you rubbed your turkey with any salt or seasoning, it will result in a stock that is full of great flavor.

Also, though Pamela’s tips for chicken stock can be applied to turkey, your turkey stock requires a simmer of as little as 2 to 5 hours.

Vegetable Stock

For vegetable stock (Pamela’s recipe here), the process is much easier and quicker than creating one with poultry. In fact, the stock should simmer for no more than 30 minutes to an hour. And a tip: Pamela likes to cut her vegetables first, so to release more flavor into the broth.

Freezing & Storage

Chicken, turkey and vegetable stock lasts for 5 days in the refrigerator and up to 3 months in the freezer. Pamela noted that if you are freezing in glass, make sure you freeze your liquid without a lid, as it will expand. Once the stock is frozen solid, cover it tightly to protect from freezer burn.

For refrigerating and freezing stock, I like these compostable corn containers in a variety of different sizes. Also great: these Mason jars in small, medium and large. And I must mention my favorite Weck tulip and mold jars, which we carry in my Montecito store.*

For Purchase

And lastly, for those of us who want homemade stock but don’t have the time to do it ourselves, some options to try include this roasted chicken stock and fresh vegetable stock from Stock Options, Fleisher’s chicken stock, and this homemade chicken stock and vegetable stock from Provenance Meals. XXJKE