Every week I buy a free-range chicken. I joint it, portion it, and over the following days it becomes the backbone of several meals — a roast, a pan-fried leg, a quick stir fry, something slow and comforting. And then, when the carcass has given up its last scrap of meat, it goes into my stockpot.

This is my chicken stock recipe — if you can even call it that. It's less a recipe and more a weekly ritual. A way of using every last part of a bird that deserved better than the bin.

The Stockpot

That pot in the photograph has seen a lot of stock. It lives in the kitchen at Casa Adora and it's one of the most important pieces of kit I own. Heavy, wide, and deep enough to take a whole carcass with room to spare. If you're going to make stock regularly — and I'd encourage you to — a proper stockpot is worth the investment.

What Goes In

The beauty of chicken stock is its flexibility. Here's what I use, though the exact quantities are never the same twice:

The carcass
One free-range chicken carcass, stripped of most of its meat. If I've been eating legs and wings through the week I keep them in the freezer and add them to the following week's stock. At Mercadona I can often pick up a free-range chicken carcass for around one euro — so if you haven't got your own, it's not an expensive fix.

The vegetables
2 medium carrots, washed but unpeeled — the skins add colour and flavour
2 medium onions, roughly chopped — I sometimes leave the skin on for a richer, deeper colour
2-3 sticks of celery if I have them — limp is absolutely fine, this is exactly where they belong
1 ripe tomato if there's one going soft on the windowsill

The aromatics
2 bay leaves
A few black peppercorns
1-2 unpeeled garlic cloves — optional, I don't always add them

Water — enough to cover everything by a couple of centimetres

That's it. No salt at this stage. Season when you use it.

How to Make It

Put the carcass in the stockpot. Add the vegetables, aromatics, and enough cold water to cover everything comfortably.

Bring it slowly to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Don't rush this — you want a gradual warmth, not a rolling boil. As it heats up, you'll see a grey foam rise to the surface. Skim it off with a spoon. It only takes a minute, and it makes a cleaner, clearer stock.

Once it's simmering gently, turn the heat down as low as it will go. You want the surface barely moving — just the occasional lazy bubble. Cover partially and leave it alone for two to three hours.

After two to three hours, strain the stock through a fine sieve into a large bowl or jug. Discard the bones and vegetables — they've done their job. Leave the stock to cool, then refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, a layer of fat will have solidified on the surface. Lift it off and discard it, or keep a little for cooking. What's left is a beautifully clear, golden chicken stock.

What I Use It For

Mostly I use it as a broth — the base for soups, a liquid for cooking rice or grains, the starting point for a sauce or gravy. It keeps in the fridge for four or five days, or in the freezer for up to three months. I usually freeze it in portions so I can grab what I need without defrosting the whole batch.

There is something quietly satisfying about pulling a container of homemade chicken stock from the freezer on a cold evening. It cost almost nothing to make, it used something that would otherwise have been thrown away, and it makes everything it touches taste better.

My Scottish Granny's Gravy Boat

I couldn't write a post about chicken stock without mentioning her. The gravy boat in the photograph — Idris pattern by W.H. Grindley, circa 1900 to 1910 — belonged to my Scottish granny. It has been filled with more gravies and sauces than I could ever count, most of them almost certainly built on a stock not unlike this one.

She would have used every part of the bird without a second thought. Waste wasn't a philosophy for her generation — it was simply the way things were done. I think about that every time I put a carcass in the pot.

A Few Notes on the Free-Range Chicken Stock

A gentle simmer is essential for a good free-range chicken stock. Don't be tempted to boil it hard — a hard boil gives you something cloudy and slightly bitter. Low and slow is always the answer.

And don't add salt. Season the dish you're making, not the stock itself — that way you keep control of the final flavour, whatever you're cooking.

If you're making stock from accumulated bones rather than a fresh carcass, it's worth roasting them first. Spread them on a tray and roast at 200°C for 30 to 45 minutes before they go in the pot. It deepens the flavour of your free-range chicken stock considerably and gives you a darker, richer result. If I'm making something that calls for a really deep colour — a gravy or a braise — I'll sometimes toss the bones in a little tomato purée before roasting. It adds body and darkness without any noticeable tomato flavour in the finished stock.

Free-Range Chicken Stock — at a glance

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2-3 hours
Makes: approximately 1.5 litres

Ingredients:
1 free-range chicken carcass (plus any saved legs or wings from the freezer)
2 medium carrots, washed and unpeeled
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
2-3 sticks of celery (optional)
1 ripe tomato (optional)
2 bay leaves
A few black peppercorns
1-2 unpeeled garlic cloves (optional)
Cold water to cover

Method:
Place everything in a large stockpot and cover with cold water.
Bring slowly to a gentle simmer, skimming any foam from the surface.
Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and simmer partially covered for 2-3 hours.
Strain through a fine sieve, cool, and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the solidified fat from the surface before using.

Footnote

This recipe is part of my easy chicken dinner ideas collection — a complete guide to cooking every cut, every style, from Casa Adora and the road.

Wonky photos, proper chicken, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef.