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chicken stock or broth
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5 from 2 votes

Chicken Stock and Chicken Broth

What's the difference between chicken stock and chicken broth?
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time6 hours
Total Time6 hours 15 minutes
Course: Sauces
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 quarts

Ingredients

Chicken Stock

  • 3 pounds Meaty chicken bones””thighs wings, backs””or a whole chicken carcass from a roast chicken
  • 1 medium onion halved
  • 2 celery ribs cut in half
  • 1 large carrot scrubbed and cut in half
  • 1 head garlic cut in half
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 12 peppercorns
  • 5 stems parsley and/or thyme
  • 4 quarts water cold

Chicken Broth

  • 3 pounds chicken dark meat
  • 1 medium onion halved
  • 2 celery ribs cut in half
  • 1 large carrot scrubbed and cut in half
  • 1 head garlic cut in half
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 12 peppercorns
  • 5 stems parsley and/or thyme
  • 4 quarts water cold
  • salt to taste

Instructions

For both of these recipes, the procedure is the same.

  • Place all the ingredients in a stock pot.
  • Cover all with cold water
  • Slowly bring up to a simmer.
  • Simmer stock for 6 hours; broth for 2 hours (it takes longer to extract all the gelatin from the bones than it does flavor from the meat)
  • Add salt to the broth, to taste
  • Strain the liquids using a fine mesh strainer and discard the meat, bones, spices, and vegetables.
  • *For a full-bodied and meaty stock/broth, use 3 pounds of bones plus 1-2 pounds of meat.

Notes

After all this, I’m not really sure that I have cleared up the debate for you. I do know that, when I have the time, I will always choose homemade broth or stock over canned, mostly because I can control the ingredients and the amount of salt I add.
We’ll also have to talk more about those bouillon cubes that are so salty with some chicken flavor added and should be avoided at all costs.