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5 from 1 review
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I know the thought of making stock from scratch can feel like a lot of work, but making stock really is as simple as throwing chickens in a pot, covering them with water, and letting them simmer for a few hours. Additions such as onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, etc., of course, enhance the flavor of the stock, but if you don’t have them or don’t feel like adding them, it doesn’t matter. The gelatinous stock shown in the video was prepared with nothing more than chickens and water.
Let’s talk about Tinga. I learned how to make it from a woman named Patricia who I worked with at Fork back in Philadelphia. Patricia often prepared tinga — chicken stewed with onions, tomatoes and chipotle in adobo sauce — for the “family meal” and served it with rice or soft tortillas. It’s incredibly delicious over crispy tortillas, too, served with a poached egg on top.
This recipe calls for one chicken, but it can be easily doubled. (Tinga freezes well — I have quarts of it ready to be thawed at a moment’s notice.) You also can make chicken stock with the carcass: After you pull off all of the meat, put the remaining bones back in the poaching liquid and let the mixture simmer for another couple of hours.
Chicken, pulled from its bones after simmering in water for about an hour.
Cilantro, soaking to remove dirt.
Chicken carcasses in water ready to be simmered.
Fat, scraped from a quart of chicken stock after sitting in the refrigerator overnight.
Stock, fat removed, ready to be frozen.
Onions and chipotles cooking before the chicken, stock and tomatoes are added.
Simple Homemade Chicken Stock
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5 from 1 review
- Author: Alexandra Stafford
- Total Time: 12 hours 50 minutes
- Yield: 1.5 quarts
Description
Making stock is as simple as throwing chickens in a pot, covering them with water, and letting them simmer for a few hours. Additions such as onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, etc., of course, enhance the flavor of the stock, but if you don’t have them or don’t feel like adding them, it doesn’t matter.
The below recipe truly can be simplified to chicken + water.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken, such as a whole chicken or wings or legs or just bones
- 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped, no need to peel
- 1/2 tsp. whole peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 onion, cut in half, peel and all
Instructions
- Place chicken or chicken bones into a large pot. Add remaining ingredients. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat so that the water is gently simmering. Scoop off and discard any scum that bubbles up at the surface. Let simmer gently for about 2 hours.
- Place a colander over a large bowl. Pour contents of stock pot through the colander. Discard all of these pieces once they have cooled. Transfer stock to storage containers and place in the fridge overnight or until completely chilled and fat has formed a solid layer at the top of the container. Scoop off this fat and discard. Freeze stock for up to 3 months or store in fridge for at most a week.
- Prep Time: 10 hours
- Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Mexican Tinga
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5 from 1 review
- Author: Alexandra Stafford at alexandracooks.com
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
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Ingredients
- 1 3-4 lb. chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 white onion, sliced
- 1 small can chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1½ cups canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken stock, low-sodium or homemade
- kosher salt to taste
- 1 bunch cilantro
Instructions
- Place chicken in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat so the water just simmers, and cook for 45 minutes. Turn off heat and transfer chicken to a large bowl to cool. When chicken is completely cool, remove the meat from the skin and bones, and place in a clean bowl. (Place bones and skin in a pot, cover with water, and let simmer for several hours. Strain, and transfer the stock to plastic storage containers. Refrigerate overnight. The following day, scrape off the fat and discard. Freeze stock.)
- In a medium-sized soup pot add the oil and place over medium heat. Sauté the onion over medium heat until slightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add 3 of the chipotles and 1 tablespoon of the sauce from the small can of chipotles (or, if you like spice, add the whole can as I did).
- Stir for one minute until the onions are nicely coated in sauce, then add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Season with a pinch of salt, then add the chicken meat to the pot, breaking up the big chunks as you add the meat.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce heat and simmer mixture very gently for 30 minutes. Coarsely chop the cilantro, add to the pot and stir to incorporate. Taste mixture, add more salt if necessary. Can be made a day ahead. To reheat, simmer mixture very slowly adding chicken stock if liquid becomes too thick.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hours 35 minutes
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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pvl —Reply
love the simple stock recipe – I’ve been starting to work from whole chicken quite a bit lately.
Simple question:
if I’m cutting up a chicken and plan to use the breasts/ thighs-legs for something other than “boiled chicken” – then that leaves only the backbone and maybe wings and/or wing-tips for stock – is that enough, really, to make stock from?
Or do I need to keep a bag in the freezer with these extra parts until I have 2 or three backbones, etc to make a pot of stock?
Related question: can old bones (ie, I just boiled a chicken and pulled the meat off, or I just broiled (and eaten) legs and thighs — is it worth the time throwing these into a stock pot?
alexandracooks —Reply
Hi Peter,
That’s a good question. When I make a small batch of stock — about 1 to 1.5 qts — I use the wings, the backbone, the neck, and the breast bones. This small quantity of bones will yield a pretty gelatinous stock. Now, because you are not removing the breast from the bones, which I totally understand because the bones add so much flavor, I think you might be better off, as you suspect, sticking the bones in the freezer in a plastic bag and waiting will you have double the quantity to make stock. The thing is is that although making stock is easy, it’s still work, and you still have to strain the stock, let it chill, remove the fat, etc — not a big deal, but if you can do it for a larger quantity of stock, it feels more worthwhile.
And yes about the boiled chicken bones and broiled legs. I almost always wait to start my stock until after dinner, when we’ve finished eating whatever braised/roasted chicken leg dish I’ve prepared. The cooked bones go into the pot along with the all of the other bones, and they definitely add flavor and gelatin.
I hope that helps!
pvl —Reply
cool – great answer, thanx for taking the time!
I guess I’ll need to experiment – I am not opposed to taking the breast from the bones. So – next time I get a chicken (next week, maybe) I’ll do just that and see how both the stock and that nights meal go! 🙂
alexandracooks —Reply
Cool, sounds like a plan!
