Chicken Stock – Caldo Casero de Pollo

Stock Ingredients

Chicken Stock – Caldo de Pollo

My top kitchen secret is homemade stock. Although good quality stock cubes will do in a pinch, there are no shortcuts to getting that deep, rich, nourishing  flavour, other than by making it yourself!

Luckily, homemade stock is incredibly easy to make. Prepping the vegetables takes under five minutes and then you’re good to go! Homemade stock adds depth to soups, sauces, risottos, couscous and so much more. I find it strangely satisfying to make and now I’m so obsessed that I freeze vegetable scraps for future pots and pinch bones off my friends!

There are many different varieties of stock – vegetable, chicken, lamb, beef, fish and shellfish. As we eat a lot of chicken, my go-to recipe is for chicken, but the recipe below will work well for lamb or beef bones. Sevi’s top tip for making your stock slightly thicker is to add a peeled potato.

What do you add to your stock? What is your favourite type? How often do you make it? Let us know in the comments below.

Ingredients

One chicken carcass (the bones of a whole chicken with the meat removed) – this can be the remains of a roast chicken or raw

2 tbsp olive oil (optional – if you are using a raw chicken carcass)

1 carrot

2 sticks celery

1 leek

1 small potato

a pinch of peppercorns

salt

water

 

Instructions

  1. If you are using raw chicken bones, heat up the olive oil in a large deep saucepan and brown the chicken on a medium heat. Turn every minute or so until it has turned golden brown on most sides. If you are using a roast chicken carcass, skip this step.
  2. Prepare your vegetables – peel and chop the ends off the carrots, wash the celery and leek and peel the potato. Add to a large deep saucepan with the chicken carcass (if you browned your chicken, add the veggies into the same saucepan.) Sprinkle over a pinch of peppercorns and salt to taste. Pour cold water into the saucepan until it measures 1 cm above the chicken and vegetables. If your saucepan is very full of stock ingredients, don’t add so much water that it will spill when it reaches a boil.
  3. Heat your saucepan over a medium heat until it reaches a boil. Then turn down the heat to very low, cover with a lid and leave to simmer for at least 1 hour. The longer the better!
  4. When your stock is ready, remove any large pieces with a slotted spoon and then pass the remaining liquid through a sieve. Your stock will last for 3-4 days in the fridge.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.