Pork 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 vegetables, and fresh herbs, this is the kind of foundational recipe that quietly elevates everything else you cook. The blanching step at the start — boiling the bones briefly and rinsing them clean — is the secret to a clear, clean-tasting broth without any bitterness or murk. A long, lazy simmer with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and a bouquet of thyme and parsley coaxes out every bit of flavor before the whole pot gets strained into liquid gold. Store-bought stocks can be a minefield when you're avoiding pork, since many commercial broths sneak in pork-derived flavor enhancers or are processed on shared lines — making a homemade batch the smartest move. Every single ingredient here is straightforward and easy to verify, so you know exactly what's going into your pot. Chill it overnight and you can skim the solidified fat right off the top, leaving you with a rich, clean stock ready to anchor soups, braises, risottos, and sauces for the week ahead.

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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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