Preparing and Preserving Your Own Chicken or Turkey Stock (2024)

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Chicken Stock in a pot. Photo Credit: Andy Hirneisen, Penn State

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Making your own chicken or turkey stock is an easy way to stretch your grocery budget while adding flavor to soups, sauces, and other recipes. The next time you cook a turkey or buy a rotisserie chicken, save the bones to make a flavorful broth. (Technically speaking, a stock is made from bones and a broth is made from meat, but many people use the terms interchangeably.)

Preparing Your Stock

1. Safety First: Before preparing any recipe, start with clean countertops and hands. Wash your hands in warm water with soap for at least 20 seconds. Rinse vegetables under running water while rubbing them in your hands or scrub them with a clean vegetable brush. Do not rinse meat, poultry, or seafood as this can spread harmful bacteria around the kitchen as the water splashes.
2. How to Begin: Start by removing the meat from the cooked chicken or turkey. Serve the meat separately or save it for a later meal. Next, place the bones and any cooking juices in a large cooking pot. You may need to separate the bones to fit in the pot. At this point you can add vegetables such as onions, carrots, and celery to enhance the flavor of the stock, but avoid strongly flavored vegetables like broccoli or peppers. You may also add herbs such as thyme, parsley, or bay leaves. Stocks are also the perfect place to use up leftover scraps of vegetables that you've been saving, such as skins, peels, and tops. Regardless of your ingredients, though, do not use moldy or rotten vegetables.
3. Seasoning: Season the stock lightly with salt and pepper. It is better not to over-season your stock, as a particular recipe might already call for other salty ingredients. For a clearer stock, consider adding whole peppercorns rather than ground black pepper. Note: if you plan to preserve the stock by pressure canning (see the next section), use canning salt.
4. Cooking the Stock: Add enough water to cover the bones by one to two inches. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30–45 minutes. Strain out the bones, vegetables, and herbs. Next, divide the stock into multiple small containers so that it cools to room temperature within two hours, which is important for food safety. Cooling quickly is important so that bacteria, which can cause foodborne illness, does not have the chance to grow in the stock as it cools. You can also place the pot of strained stock into a sink filled with ice water. Stir the stock often to speed cooling. When the stock reaches room temperature, it is safe to place it in the refrigerator for further cooling. After the stock has cooled completely, the fat will solidify on the top. Use a clean spoon to skim and discard the fat.
5. Storing the Stock: Finished stock can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. For longer storage, freeze or can it. To freeze stock, place it in a plastic freezer container or a wide-mouth mason jar. Leave some space at the top of the container to allow for expansion when frozen. Thaw the stock in the refrigerator or as part of the cooking process, not on the counter at room temperature.

Canning

To preserve your stock by pressure canning, complete steps one through four above, then follow these directions from Penn State Extension's guide "Preserving Food at Home."

1. Re-heat skimmed broth to boiling. Meanwhile, pre-heat clean quart or pint jars in two to three inches of simmering water in a pressure canner.
2. Fill the jars, leaving one inch of headspace. Then, wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel. Next, apply new canning lids and secure them in place with a ring band to fingertip tightness. Do not over tighten. The air in the headspace needs to escape during processing, and overtightening prevents this from happening, which, in turn, prevents a strong vacuum seal from forming.
3. Place the lid on the canner and turn the heat to medium-high. When a steady stream of steam escapes from the vent port, set a timer for 10 minutes. This is called venting and is important to ensure all of the air in the chamber is replaced with steam. Skipping this step can lead to under-processing and an unsafe product.
4. After 10 minutes of venting, add the regulator weight or close the petco*ck valve. Once the pressure reaches 11 pounds in a dial-gauge canner or 10 pounds in a weighted-gauge canner, start a timer.
5. Process pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes. (If your elevation is over 1,000 feet, contact your local Penn State Extension office for directions on how to make adjustments.)
6. When processing is complete, turn off the heat. Allow all of the pressure to release from the canner naturally. Do not rush the cooling process as that can result in an unsafe product.
7. Once the pressure is fully released, remove the pressure regulator weight or open the petco*ck valve.
8. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Skipping this step can result in the siphoning of liquid from the jars before the vacuum seal forms. After 10 minutes of cooling, open the lid and remove the jars with a jar lifter. Place the jars on a protected surface, such as a wooden cutting board or a towel. Do not place hot jars directly on the counter, as they can crack. Be sure to leave a few inches of space between the jars so they can cool evenly.
9. After 12–24 hours, test the seals by pressing on the lids. The center of the lid should be down and not move. Do not test for seals before 12 hours. Note: If a lid is not sealed when you press on it, but the button stays down after pressing, that is a false seal and that jar is not safe to store at room temperature. If any jars are unsealed, store them in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze them after transferring them to a freezer-safe container.
10. Remove the ring bands and wash the jars and rings. Label the jars and store them without the ring bands in a cool, dark place. For the best quality stock, use it within a year.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of "Preserving Food at Home," visit Penn State Extension or call Customer Service at 877-345-0691. For specific questions about preserving fruits, vegetables, and meats, you can call your local extension office to speak with a food safety educator. Customer Service can provide the phone number for your local Penn State Extension office.

Reference:

Hirneisen, A., LaBorde, L., McDonald, S., McGeehan, N., & Reed, S. (2022). Preserving food at home. Penn State Extension.