After making this overnight slow cooker chicken stock you’ll never go back to store-bought!
A couple months ago I discovered the beauty of cooking a whole chicken in the slow cooker.
It certainly doesn’t replace a perfectly roasted chicken in the oven, with its crispy skin and juicy meat {drool}.
But, it’s a fine alternative for a busy day when there’s no time in the evening to prep and cook a regular home cooked meal.
Plus, cooking a whole chicken this way is the perfect setup for overnight slow cooker chicken stock!
The meat literally falls off the bones, leaving you with the perfect base of cooked down onions, juices and spices—and bones—to create an amazing slow cooked stock.
That’s right.
Homemade chicken stock made right in the comfort of your own home, with the ease of a slow cooker while you’re sleeping.
Don’t want to slow cook a whole chicken first?
No worries.
A leftover carcass from an oven-roasted chicken (I freeze mine after roasting a chicken in the oven), or baking a package of inexpensive chicken drumsticks, can give you the perfect bone base too!
All you do next is add a fresh halved onion, carrots, celery, some fresh or dried herbs (whatever you have on hand), lots of salt and enough water to fill the slow cooker to within an inch of the top.
No carrots or celery on hand? Doesn’t matter. I’ve made this with only some onion and dried herbs, and it still turned out better than store-bought.
Then you cook the stock on low for ten to twelve hours, while you’re sleeping.
Warning: the scent from the overnight slow cooker chicken stock wafting through the house in the morning will make you want to leap out of bed and dance a jig—it’s unreal.
Once it’s done, all that’s left is letting it cool and then packaging it up to freeze or store fresh.
I usually keep two to three cups in the refrigerator in a mason jar, and then I freeze the remainder in two-cup portions in zip-top freezer bags laid flat so that they stack.
You’ll never go back to the store-bought stock!
- Bones, skin, and scrumples left over from a roast chicken
- 1 large onion, halved (it's fine to leave the skin on!)
- 2 carrots, rough chopped
- 1 celery stalk, rough chopped
- 1 handful fresh parsley (or a couple tablespoons of dried herbs)
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 12+ cups water
- Throw all the ingredients into a large slow cooker, and set it to cook on low for 10-12 hours.
- Strain the stock into a large bowl and let it cool in the fridge. Discard all the pieces of bone and vegetables.
- Once cool, skim the fat off the top of the stock, and then freeze in 2-cup portions in zip-top freezer bags. Tip: lay the bags flat while freezing so they stack easily.
- Makes 12 to 18 cups of chicken stock depending on the size of your slow cooker.
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This is why I want a slow cooker! But I’m worried about toxins. I was going to get a VitaClay, then hubby got laid off, so next go round of having budget, I’ll pick one up. YUM!
Gina – toxins with the slow cooker? Never even occurred to me!
This looks sooooo yummy!!
Thanks, Ana! It’s really soooo good.
Oh yum! I bet it smells amazing.
Kristin – you have no idea! {drool}
Pinned! I look forward to trying it this weekend 🙂
Jeanae – let me know what you think!
I was pretty close!~ I’ve made my own chicken stock, but I was missing a couple of ingredients. Thaks for sharing.
April – more than anything, I’ve found that the right amount of salt makes SUCH a difference (probably more than you’d think).
I tend to use very little salt in my stock because I don’t want the dishes I use it in to become over salty. I prefer to wait until I use it and then salt as needed. Perhaps if I were going to just sip it, as is that may be a different story. When I buy stock from the store, I buy unsalted when it’s available, for the same reason.
A lot of folks are in your camp (with butter, too). I’ve never noticed issues with my meals tasting too salty by having a salted broth or butter.