Making a gelatinous bone broth with chicken bones is easy to make in a slow cooker. This easy homemade chicken stock is much healthier than anything you could buy.
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Discover how to make the best gelatinous bone broth with chicken bones in a slow cooker. It is so easy to make and so much better than store-bought stocks.
Cost To Make
Estimated cost = $2.70 or $0.90 per litre
Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- This rich bone broth recipe makes 3 liters (12 cups) of chicken stock that you can use to make soups, stews, risottos, and more.
- This is a budget-friendly recipe that uses chicken carcasses that are cheap to buy.
- Homemade chicken stock tastes so much better than store-bought stocks, and you know what has gone into it.
- This gelatinous chicken broth by itself is a healthy a nutritious drink.
- You can make this slow cooker chicken stock recipe even on your busiest day because it can be left to simmer for up to 24 hours.
Making Stock In A Slow Cooker Verses Stove Top
Making chicken stock in a slow cooker is convenient, especially if you don’t have time to look after something on the stove. It gives you the freedom to do other things in and out of the home.
Using the slow cooker ensures an even low cooking temperature which is ideal for cooking marrow bones. Because it slowly draws out the goodness from the bones like collagen, which is essential for rebuilding bones and connective tissue.
Even though you are limited to the amount of broth you can make in a slow cooker, you still get a decent amount so that you can make a few healthy meals during the week.
Ingredients In This Recipe
The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.
When making bone broth, keep it a neutral flavor so this way you can use it for just about any recipe that calls for chicken bone broth or stock.
Some stock recipes will use a bay leaf or thyme to flavor the stock. However, these flavors can limit the number of dishes you can make because they do not go well in many Asian recipes.
Instead, use onion, garlic, carrot, celery, a few black peppercorns, and a little salt. These flavors make a good stock that you can use to make many international recipes.
Also, when making stock in the slow cooker, you are making a small batch of stock, so avoid adding too much onion and celery. Too much of these can ruin the flavor of the stock.
It is best to use a medium onion and a maximum of two celery stalks (ribs) and not the celery leaves.
You can also add 1 teaspoon of salt. The salt is just for flavor and is optional.
Equipment
We use a basic 6.5 liter (6 quarts) slow cooker that has only three settings low, high, and auto.
It is large enough to hold 3 liters (12 cups) of water and 2 kg (4.4 pounds) chicken bones and some veggies.
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1 - Roughly chop the vegetables, then spread them out over the base of the slow cooker. Then add the chicken carcasses squashing them into the slow cooker to make them fit.
Next, add up to 3 liters (12 cups) of water to almost fill the slow cooker. Leave about a 2 cm (0.8 inches) space at the top of the slow cooker, because you don't want to overfill it because it can bubble over and make a mess.
Before putting the lid on the slow cooker, try and get most of the bones to sit under the water, but it is okay to have a few pieces slightly above if you can squash them all flat. However, make sure that the lid fits correctly on the slow cooker.
Turn the slow cooker to low and cook for about 12 - 15 hours.
Step 2 - After the cooking time, switch the slow cooker off, remove the lid and let the stock cool for about one hour before staining.
Then strain the stock through a fine-meshed sieve over a large container to remove the chicken bones and vegetables.
Discard the vegetables and chicken bones because you no longer need them.
Step 3 - Next, strain the stock again through a double layer of cheesecloth sitting inside the sieve.
Passing the stock through a double layer of cheesecloth helps remove any fine sediment and leaves you with a clear golden broth.
Step 4 - As you strain the stock through the cheesecloth, the sediment will build up in the cloth. This sediment will make the stock pass through the cheesecloth at a slower rate.
When this happens use a spoon to stir the sediment, scraping the bottom of the cloth to make the broth flow more freely.
When you have finished straining the broth, throw out the sediment and wash and dry the cheesecloth to reuse another day.
Step 5 - As the stock cools you will see a thin creamy layer form on top of the broth, this is chicken fat.
Chicken fat is not healthy to eat and should be removed. The easiest way to remove the fat is when the chicken broth is well chilled.
Allow to stock to cool to room temperature, then store covered in the fridge for at least 48 hours before removing the fat.
This time will allow the stock to cool completely, and the broth gels and the fat will turn into a soft whitish layer.
Step 6 - Use a tablespoon to skim the soft fat layer from the top of the stock. Remove as much as you can without picking up too much of the gelatinous bone broth.
Step 7 – When you have removed as much fat as you can with a spoon, use strips of absorbent paper to lift away any remaining fat.
Step 8 – After removing the fat, you will be left with a thick gelatinous stock that is fat-free.
Step 9 – The above image shows what the stock should look like when finished. It should be nice and thick and jelly-like.
? Recipe Tips
Timing - Start making the chicken broth in the slow cooker in the early evening and leave it on overnight. That way, by midmorning the next day it would have been slow cooking for 12 – 15 hours.
Then all you need to do is allow it to cool for 1 hour, strain it and allow it to cool completely before putting it in the fridge.
Raw Chicken Bones - use about 600 – 700 grams (21 – 24 oz) of bones for every 1 liter (4 cups) of water is ideal for making a nice thick gelatinous bone broth.
You are not limited to just using chicken carcasses, you can also include chicken necks, feet, wings, wingtips, and cooked bones.
Cooked Chicken Bones - If you have pulled the meat from a roasted whole chicken, rather than throw out the leftover chicken bones use these to make stock.
You will need to use just as many cooked bones as you do raw bones to make stock.
So, you could either collect and freeze the bones from rotisserie chicken and make stock when you have enough or replace some of the raw bones with cooked bones.
Serving Size
This recipe make about 3 litres (12 cups) of stock.
Calories Per Serve
One cup of homemade chicken stock is about 60 calories.
Storage
Store the gelatinous bone broth in clean and dry sealable jars or containers in the fridge for up to four days and use it as needed. For longer storage see our freezing instructions below.
How To Freeze Chicken Stock?
Transfer the stock and freeze in 750ml – 1 liter (3 or 4 cups) size freezer-safe containers.
These sizes are ideal as most recipes will use either 750 ml (3 cups), 1 liter (4 cups), or 1.5 liters (6 cups).
You can freeze the gelatinous bone broth for up to 12 months.
How To Defrost Stock?
There are several ways to defrost chicken stock.
- You can place it in the microwave and melt the chicken stock slowly on the defrost cycle.
- You can place the container in some hot water to melt and loosen the stock from the container. Then transfer the frozen block to a saucepan and continue to melt over low heat.
- Remove the stock from the freezer and place it in the fridge for 24 - 48 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can drink chicken stock by itself. Homemade chicken broth/stock if full of nutrition and is delicious to sip hot.
In the case of slow cooking, always use a lid to keep the temperature constant.
If cooking on the stovetop the stock can be partially covered or uncovered at a very low simmer.
Stock cubes or powder are a great alternative when you need stock in a hurry.
It is not as nutritional as homemade stock, but stock cubes are a great way to add flavor to a dish.
To make chicken stock with stock cubes: the general rule is to dissolve one cube or one heaped teaspoon of powder in one cup of hot water.
So, if you need one liter of stock; mix 4 stock cubes or 4 teaspoons of powder in 1 liter (4 cups of hot water).
Stock cubes and powder contain salt, so consider this when using stock cubes and season your dish to taste at the end of cooking.
So, now you know how to make a gelatinous bone broth with chicken bones, please try it.
I would love to hear from you if you have tried the recipe. Please come back and drop a comment below and tell me how it went.
Recipe
Gelatinous Bone Broth With Chicken Bones (Slow cooker)
INGREDIENTS
- 2 kg (4 pounds) chicken bones
- 1 brown onion quartered skin can be left on
- 2 garlic cloves crushed skin can be left on
- 2 celery stalks ribs cut into chunks
- 2 carrots scrubbed and roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt optional
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 12 cups water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place everything into the slow cooker making sure the bones are underwater.
- Put the lid on and set to low and cook for 12 - 15 hours.
- Turn the slow cooker off and allow to stand uncovered for 1 hour, then strain the stock. Place a sieve lined with a cheesecloth over a large bowl or pot. Scoop out the solids and place them in the strainer.Once the liquid has stopped dripping, remove the solids and discard them. Pour the remaining stock through the sieve, to remove any remaining solids.If you want a very clear stock the liquid can be strained again through several layers of cheesecloth.
- Allow the stock to come to room temperature, then transfer to storage containers and store in the fridge for at least 12 –24 hours.
- Then skim off the fat layer on top of the stock and discard the fat.
- The stock can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days, for a longer storage freeze.
Sam says
Can an Instant Pot be used too? It has a slow cook function. I would like to try to make this broth and freeze to use whenever required.
Can ginger be used too?
Harriet says
I have never tried using an instant pot to make stock, so I can't advise you on this.
Karen says
I made this on the weekend, its wonderful, Thanks.