homemade chicken stock

I have been making homemade chicken stock for a while now. It’s super easy. The other day, I had a chicken de-boned and rolled by my butcher and he gave me (well I’m sure I paid for it!) the carcass. Out with the slow cooker again! Chicken stock is such a staple in my house, I have the concentrate in the fridge constantly (will post that recipe soon too). **UPDATE: here is the chicken stock concentrate recipe.  I use the liquid for poaching, soups, marinades etc.  It’s just one of those ‘all in and leave it’ recipes. Homemade chicken stock really is very easy.

• 1 chicken carcass or 1 kg chicken neck/ 3-5 chicken carcasses or 1 whole chicken
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1-2 carrots chopped
• 1 celery stick chopped
• handful sliced mushrooms
• 1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
• bunch of herbs (I used parsley & thyme)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1/2 Tbsp peppercorns (omit for AIP).
• 2 Tbsp apple cidar vinegar

1. Put the chicken carcass in the slow cooker, add apple cider vinegar & cover with water.
2. Toss in the vegetables & herbs.
3. Season.
4. Soak for about an hour before cooking to help the ACV start to break down the connective tissue – this will make for a more gelatinous broth/stock which is great for our joints.
5. Cook on low for 24hrs. (you can do less, but the flavours won’t be as intense)
6. Let it cool, remove the carcass and any big chunks of vegetables/herbs.
7. Strain the rest into a large jar/container.  Store in the fridge for up to about a week (or even better, use it for a soup whilst it’s still hot!)

** You can also pour it into silicone muffn moulds, freeze it, pop them out when frozen and keep them in a bag in the freezer  – then you can just pop 1 or 2 into a recipe when it needs it.