Nitrate & Nitrite Free Classic Chicken Stock
Packaged broths and bouillon cubes are notorious for sneaking in preservatives, and for anyone avoiding nitrates and nitrites, reading those ingredient panels can feel like a part-time job. This from-scratch stock solves that problem entirely — every single ingredient is whole, fresh, and exactly what it says it is. The process starts with a quick blanch of the bones to pull out impurities, which gives you a cleaner, clearer final product that tastes genuinely homemade. A long, lazy three-hour simmer with onions, carrots, celery, garlic, fresh herbs, and a spoonful of tomato paste coaxes out a golden, deeply savory liquid that no carton can replicate. Straining it through a fine-mesh sieve and chilling it overnight lets you lift off the fat cap and end up with something pure, rich, and completely free of anything you didn't put in yourself. Use it as the base for soups, braises, risottos, or sauces — anywhere a good stock makes the difference between fine and genuinely great.
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Learn more →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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