Don’t Throw Out those Chicken Bones — Make Stock!

We waste so much food. The FDA estimates that 30-40% of food in the US is thrown out. There will come a time when this is no longer feasible, and we will have to be more judicious with our resources. That is why at fuudii.com we are constantly looking for thrifty ways to get the most from our food to combat waste. One of those is bones. Do not throw out those leftover chicken bones! Turn them into a highly nutritious stock to use as a base for soups and stews, for making sauces and gravies, or to have on hand whenever you need a flavorful liquid for cooking. It is also a healthful way to treat illnesses. Bone broth has been touted to have great benefits in soothing respiratory illnesses, treating the flu, and boosting your immunity when you are run down.

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Uses for stock:

• Soups and stews
• Gravy and sauces
• Cooking liquid for rice, beans, grains, noodles
• Deglazing pans
• Steaming and poaching
• Replacing liquids in casseroles
• Making risottos
• Stir-Fries

So, for me today is “stock-making day”. Now, you might think that making your own stock is a slow and arduous process of cooking over a hot stove. But making stock is really quite basic and uses only a few ingredients. It takes a couple minutes to chop up the vegetables, throw everything into a pot and leave it to simmer slowly. Then you can walk away for 1-3 hours and let the magic happen. An even easier way to make stock is to use a slow cooker. The reason this works is the liquid can be kept at a consistent and slow simmer, which keeps the broth from getting cloudy. The long slow process releases the gelatin from the bones, the part of the chicken with the highest nutrition.

The 3 simple Ingredients for Chicken Stock:

• Leftover bones or carcass from poultry, chicken wing tips, and trimmings
• Aromatic vegetables – such as carrots, celery, onion, garlic, leeks
• Water to cover

Whenever I purchase a rotisserie chicken or finish carving up the turkey for Thanksgiving, I save the leftover carcass and skin to make stock. I save these in the refrigerator for up to a day or place chicken or turkey bones, wingtips, and other trimmings in a freezer bag for up to 6 months in the freezer.

Then when I have time, I throw a pot on the stove, add the ingredients and let it simmer for an hour or two while I go about other things. After Thanksgiving dinner is often a good time for me to make stock while doing dishes, cleaning up the kitchen and enjoying dessert and coffee with company. Once the stock is finished cooking, I pour the contents into a large bowl or another large pot, straining out the spent bones and vegetables through a sieve.

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The liquid needs to cool so the fat can solidify and be skimmed off the top. During the winter when it is below freezing, I set the finished pot on the stoop outside to cool down quickly or refrigerate for several hours. Once cold, the fat solidifies on the top and can be removed. Then I transfer the stock into jars to keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or put into plastic containers for the freezer.  

Tricks for making stock

• Do Not Boil. Keep the stock at a simmer for a clear broth.

• Add aromatics later in the cooking process to maximize nutrients.

• Freeze bones and trimmings like wingtips until ready to use.

• This is a great time to use up vegetables in your refrigerator.

• Vegetable trimmings such as carrot tops, potato peels, onion skins, celery ends, scallion trimmings can also be saved in a freezer bag for use in stocks. Be sure to wash well before freezing.

I do not season my stock until it is ready to be used. This is the time that I add salt and other seasonings to match the dish I am making. 

Having stock on hand is a great way to step up your cooking. There is no comparison between having your own homemade stock versus what comes out of a box from the grocery store. And, it is a thrifty way to use ingredients you might normally toss out.