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homemade chicken stock in a slow cooker
I love this chicken stock. You don’t need to wait until you have a spare set of chicken bones—you just use a small whole chicken. Because it’s made in the slow cooker, the chicken becomes tender instead of tough. And best of all, it cooks while you sleep.
For the vegetables, just use any odds and ends left over in the fridge. I used the carrots and celery my kids never ate.
chicken stock
1 small whole chicken (2-3 pounds, or about 1 kilo)
salt and pepper
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
carrots
celery parsley
1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet set over medium high heat, brown chicken on all sides.
2. Transfer chicken to a large slow cooker, and set the cooker to low.
3. Drain fat from skillet and deglaze with a cup of water. Pour deglazing liquid over chicken, and add more fresh water to cover. Add in onion, carrots, and parsley.
4. Put the lid on and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or over night.
5. Allow stock to cool. Place a sieve in a colander, and set in a large bowl. Strain the stock. Place in small containers and freeze.
6. Remove usable chicken meat, and refrigerate for another purpose.
7. Discard everything else.
6 Responses to “homemade chicken stock in a slow cooker”
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I found your blog through smitten kitchen, and I must say I really enjoy reading your blog. The photos are wonderful. I have a quick question regarding the homemade chicken stock in a slow cooker. Have you tried making a veggie stock in the slow cooker? If so, what veggies? Garlic, Onion, carrots, celery?? I really like the idea of using the slow cooker to make stock. Thanks for the great blog.
Vegetable stock would probably work great! I would add in any aromatic vegetables that aren’t starchy (no potatoes or squash). You could use rutabaga, and maybe parsnips. I would use parsley, fresh thyme, leeks (definitely leeks), fennel, fennel fronds— anything to get as much flavor as possible. May recipes say to add garlic, but garlic flavor is easy enough to get when you are actually making a recipe, and can be too strong in the stock. But if you love garlic, add that, too.
I have never done this, but you might try roasting all the vegetables at once to get some caramelization of the vegetables, which would add flavor and color. Hm. I’ll have to try that, too. Put them in a big roasting pan, and roast at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until they start to brown. Then throw them in the slow cooker and cover with water. Set it to low and leave it for 6-8 hours.
I love to make my own chicken stock (and beef, and turkey, and anything else I can think of), but for some reason, I’ve never thought to do it in a slow cooker. Thanks for the tip. I couldn’t however, make it overnight. My bedroom is entirely too close to the kitchen and I wouldn’t be able to sleep for the chicken smell. I would probably get up in the middle of the night and want to tear bits off the chicken to snack on.
I always roast my veggies (and bones, if I’m using bones) to intensify the flavor. Works great.
A friend of mine worked for a while at the Biltmore North Carolina and she had a collegue who made stock from whole chickens. Then she threw the chicken away, because, she said, you couldn’t do anything with boiled chicken. I hope you are as shocked as I was at the waste.
Jaime I have a few chickens that aren’t producing well, too old now. They are going to make a fine stock.
I LOVE reading your blog. And you get comments from all over the WORLD! Plus your readers find you through amazing links like Smitten Kitchen and Tastespotting. Fun!