Chicken Stock or Bone Broth

Ingredients

• 1 whole raw chicken with organs removed
• onions
• celery
• carrots
• 1 bay leaf
• thyme
• rosemary
• crushed peppercorns
• water

Method

Chicken stock is a stock-making exercise in patience and restraint. The goal is clean, flavourful liquid driven by collagen extraction, not a murky reduction. Start with a whole raw bird, butchered into large pieces — thighs, breasts, wings, carcass — keeping all bones and connective tissue. Discard the organs but leave any skin intact; the collagen lives in the skeleton and sinew.

Sear the aromatics first if you want deeper colour: halve the onions (skin on), chop the celery and carrots into 5cm lengths, and dry-roast them in the empty pot over medium-high heat for 3–4 minutes until they char slightly at the edges. This isn't essential, but it rounds the final flavour. Add the chicken pieces directly on top. Cover with cold water by 5cm — the cold start prevents proteins from seizing too quickly and keeps the broth clearer. Add the bay leaf, 3–4 sprigs of thyme, 1 sprig of rosemary, and a teaspoon of crushed peppercorns.

Bring to a rolling boil without a lid, then immediately reduce the heat to a gentle simmer — a few bubbles breaking the surface every 2–3 seconds, not a vigorous roil. For the first 10 minutes, skim the grey foam and coagulated proteins that rise; this is denatured myosin and blood solids, and removing them prevents the stock from turning cloudy. Stop skimming once the foam stops forming. The stock is done in 2–3 hours — anything longer extracts minerals from the bones that can turn bitter. Chicken collagen needs far less time than beef or veal; extended simmering past 3 hours offers no flavour benefit, only diminishing returns.

Straining is the critical final step. Pour the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve lined with muslin into a clean container, discarding the solids. Do not press the bones or vegetables through — this forces trapped impurities into the stock and muddies it. You should see a pale, translucent liquid, light gold at best. If it looks brown, your heat was too high or your simmer time too long. Let it cool to room temperature uncovered, then refrigerate; any fat will solidify on the surface within hours and can be lifted away for economical-cooking purposes — save it for roasting vegetables or making roux. The stock keeps for five days in the fridge, or freeze it for three months.