Why bother making chicken stock when you can buy it in a carton?

Well, because it is easy, it uses things you might otherwise throw away, and homemade stock adds great flavor to soups, sauces and other recipes. You can flavor it any way you like by adding your favorite spices. And if you’re starting with a whole chicken, you also end up with plenty of cooked chicken ready for another meal.

This stock recipe can be made with a fresh whole fryer, or you can substitute a rotisserie chicken if desired.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, about 5 pounds

• 8 cups water

• 2 stalks celery

• 2 carrots

• 1 onion

• 1 clove garlic

• 2 tbsp seasoning salt

• 1 tbsp ground pepper

• ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

You can modify this in any way you like.

Instructions If Using a Whole Uncooked Chicken

1. Add the chicken to a large pot with the water and bring to a boil.

2. Add the vegetables and seasonings and bring back to a boil.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for approximately 1 to 1½ hours.

4. Remove the chicken from the broth and allow it to cool enough to handle.

5. Strain the broth, discarding the cooked vegetables.

6. De-bone the chicken and save the cooked chicken for later use.

Using a Rotisserie Chicken Instead

If you’re using a rotisserie chicken, remove the meat first and save it for another meal.

Put the bones, carcass and any juices from the chicken into the pot with the water. Then add the vegetables and seasonings and continue with the recipe above.

That’s one of the nice things about doing it this way. The chicken itself can become dinner, chicken salad, tortilla soup or whatever else sounds good, and what you normally would have thrown away becomes homemade chicken stock.

But listen.

Yes, store-bought chicken stock is perfectly fine if you don’t have time to make this. We use it too.

Simple is supposed to make life easier—not give you something else to feel guilty about.