Coconut Free Classic Chicken Stock

Total time4 hr 15 min

Prep time15 min

Cook time3 hr 30 min

4.5

(5)

A deeply golden, aromatic stock built from chicken bones, sweet carrots, celery, and a whole head of garlic — this is the kind of foundation that makes everything else you cook taste noticeably better. The tomato paste adds a subtle richness and color that sets it apart from a pale, flat broth, while the fresh thyme, parsley, and bay leaf bring a herbal complexity that dried seasonings just can't match. A quick blanching step at the start pulls out any grey foam and impurities before the real simmering begins, which is the secret to a clean, clear, beautifully flavored result. Many store-bought stocks and bouillons sneak in unexpected additives or natural flavorings that can be hard to verify, so making your own from scratch puts you fully in control of every single ingredient. The long, low simmer — three unhurried hours — coaxes every bit of flavor and body from the bones without any shortcuts. Once chilled, you simply lift off the solidified fat layer and you're left with a rich, versatile stock ready to anchor soups, braises, risottos, or sauces. Batch-cook it, freeze it in portions, and you'll always have something genuinely good waiting in the freezer.

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Ingredients

8 servings

3 lb chicken bones and carcass (or a whole 3–4 lb chicken, cut into pieces)
2 medium yellow onions, quartered (skin on)
3 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp black peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
12 cups cold water
1 tsp salt

Instructions

1
Place the chicken bones in a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then drain and rinse the bones under cold running water to remove any grey foam or impurities. Rinse the pot clean.
2
Return the blanched bones to the clean pot. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, tomato paste, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, and salt. Pour in the 12 cups of cold water — the water should cover the bones by at least 1 inch; add more if needed.

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