Chicken Stock - how to make it in a slow cooker?

[Deleted User]

I would put the lot into a pan with some chunks of carrot, onion and celery. Simmer to reduce and then strain

absolutebounder

Cheat! Throw in a chicken OXO cube

smithyjules

well it had been in the slow cooker with carrots leeks celery dried herbs garlic and black pepper corns for hours so i thought in the end it had prob drained all the flavour poss so took a risk, strained it and it has reduced really nicely, very tasty now horray!!! thanks for the advice!

Penelope_Penguin

smithyjules wrote: »

well it had been in the slow cooker with carrots leeks celery dried herbs garlic and black pepper corns for hours so i thought in the end it had prob drained all the flavour poss so took a risk, strained it and it has reduced really nicely, very tasty now horray!!! thanks for the advice!

Glad it worked :T I'll add this to the exisitng thread on chciken stock in the SC to keep ideas together.

Penny. x

zippychick

Right, hoping to make stock today with my chicken carcass. Dont have any veg in the fridge so i can either make it without (need help/suggestions on what herbs etc to put in)

Or put it in the fridge and make it in a day or so with veg

Do you think veg makes much of a difference to the taste? I dont have any freezer room to freeze it EEK!

Olliebeak

If you've only got the one carcass (and no veggies at all) I'd do it on the hob in a medium pan (break the bones up first) and not too much water. Personally I wait until I've got about four of them and do them in the SC with veggie peelings (I freeze them as well for stock/soup-making).

I've seen some people say that they like to roast the bones first to give an extra depth to the flavour.

sarahwhu

Morning all,

I have been reading about cooking chicken in the slow cooker and am trying it for the first time today. My plan is, once the chicken is cooked, to strip all the meat off to use for a couple of meals and sandwiches. However, once I have done this I would really like to make some stock using the carcass. I've never made stock before and this is where I would appreciate your help

Am I best leaving the carcass and juices in the slow cooker and doing the stock in there? If so, what do i need to add? How much water do I need to add and how long should I cook it on? Should I do it on high/low?

Once I have simmered all the necessary ingredients I assume that I just sieve it all and what liquid is left is the stock? How much can I expect to get from one chicken?

Furthermore (sorry, know this is long winded!) - once I have my stock could I put that in the SC with some vegetables of choice to make a soup?

I am still learning when it comes OS but am making small positive changes one step at a time. I bought a bread machine a month or so ago and am pleased to say that I have not bought a supermarket loaf since :j (And, to make that even better my 15 year old loves my bread - even eats her crusts now!! )

Thank you in advance for any help you can offer (and I know it will be forthcoming).

misskool

I've never made chicken stock in the slow cooker, so mine will be for the hob.

Some brown their bones in the oven to give it more depth of flavor. I just throw mine in the pan after I've stripped the meat off. I do break the bones up into as many small bits as I can. Add an onion, some carrots, some celery, or potato peelings and boil up. Add enough water to cover everything up. Simmer for 2-3 hours. Remove scum of the top if you remember. I don't always remember and it hasn't killed us yet. Don't worry if there's not much liquid, remember it's easier to dilute stock down than to concentrate it. Strain through sieve to catch bits and ta-dah, chicken stock.

To make soup from the stock, just add some soup mix (or lentils/barley), some of the stripped chicken, some chopped up vegetables and boil 10 mins. Season and scoff with your lovely home made bread.

It makes a lovely base for risotto and anything else you cook. If you don't use it all, cool and pour into ice cube tray for perfect portion sized stock cubes.

Have fun

sarahwhu

Thank you for that

I am quite keen to use my SC if possible so would still be keen to hear from any OSers that use their SC to make stock and soup with after cooking up a chicken....

ChocClare

I cook whole chickens in the slow cooker quite regularly: as you probably know, you roughly chop an onion and a carrot plus some celery if you have it and maybe a sprinkling of herbs, sit the chicken on top, season, put the lid on and go away. I never use any liquid.

However, this does make quite a lot of liquid itself - which is stock. You can strain this and use with your chicken or freeze if you prefer.

Once you've rescued your chicken, I'd leave all your veg in the bottom of the pot and maybe add another carrot and onion. Break your carcass up and place on the top. I then boil a kettle and pour the contents over, bung the lid on and leave overnight. In the morning you have stock. I can't remember whether I do it on high or low - as I leave it overnight it doesn't honestly make that much of a difference.

I leave it to cool in the SC as that gets every last drop of thing out of the bones. Then strain and use as before.

I guess this will make the same amount of stock as your SC will hold liquid. A good kettleful!

And yes, you can then use this as a basis for soup.

If you want to use it to make sauces, it does benefit from being reduced slightly, as this intensifies the flavour. Think of difference between thin chicken gravy and the intense, yummy sauces you sometimes get that make you want to lick every last drop off the plate (or is that just me? ). All you've done there is got rid of excess water - and you can do the same. As a base for soup though, it's fine as it is.

Hope it goes well!