Legume 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 base that makes everything you cook taste noticeably better. The tomato paste adds a subtle richness and color that sets it apart from a flat, watery broth, while fresh thyme, parsley, and a bay leaf layer in that classic, slow-simmered fragrance. Because it's made entirely from meat, bones, and vegetables, there's no need to worry about legume-derived additives or hidden ingredients that sneak into many store-bought broths and bouillons. The blanching step at the start is a small extra effort that pays off in a cleaner, clearer final product — it pulls out impurities before the long simmer even begins. Keeping the heat at a gentle, lazy simmer rather than a hard boil is what keeps the stock golden and clear instead of cloudy and dull. Once chilled, you simply lift off the solidified fat and you're left with a pure, concentrated liquid that freezes beautifully and elevates soups, braises, risottos, and sauces for weeks to come.

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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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