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I’ve shared this overnight chicken stock recipe on the blog before, but to be honest it’s kind of buried in the intro paragraph of another recipe, which basically means it’s hard to find.
And now that I’ve realized how incredibly popular this slow cooker “overnight chicken stock” recipe is, I’ve decided it deserves a page all of its own!
If you don’t already own a slow cooker, I like to give people plenty of reasons to buy one because I love mine (we use this basic, inexpensive slow cooker) and use it quite frequently for everything from “Flank Steak Fajitas” to “Refried Beans.”
Make Easy Chicken Stock in the Crock Pot Overnight
One of the best crock pot discoveries though (thanks to a friend!) has definitely been this recipe below for chicken stock that cooks while you sleep using the leftover chicken bones from your dinner. I highly recommend using the leftovers from “The Best Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot” recipe, but any chicken bones will do, and you’ll be amazed by the outcome.
Get ready to say goodbye to store bought chicken broth forever!
Can I Make Slow Cooker Stock with Beef, Turkey, or Vegetables?
Absolutely! Besides chicken, you can make any kind of stock overnight in the Crock Pot with leftover meat. Here’s some tips to make different homemade stocks.
Turkey Stock
Since a whole turkey carcass is usually a lot bigger than a chicken, you’ll need to increase the quantity of your spices. The amount will depend on how large of a bird you’re making stock from. Don’t forget to include the neck and wing tips; these are the best for turkey stock!
If you can't fit a whole turkey in the Crock Pot choose the neck, wings, and legs first.
Beef Stock
Beef stock is a bit trickier because you can’t just use leftover bones. The best bones for beef stock have meat on them (that gives the stock its flavor). Some stores sell packaged bags of beef soup bones that are perfect for making stock. Otherwise, choose around 5lbs of back and neck pieces.
Beef bones need to be precooked in the oven before you make stock with them.
Vegetable Stock
Omit the meat and double the quantity of vegetables. The seasoning from the chicken helps flavor this homemade stock so you may want to add more spices if you find your overnight vegetable stock comes out bland.
Can I Use This Technique to Make Overnight Bone Broth in the Slow Cooker?
I’m going to let you in on a little secret: bone broth is basically the same as this stock recipe. Cooking chicken bones low and slow releases the nutrients (mainly collagen) from them. This is the same process used to make both flavorful stock and bone broth.
The main difference is cooking time: stock can be ready in 8-10 hours of slow cooking, where most people prefer to simmer bone broth up to 24 hours.
How to Fix Oily Overnight Chicken Stock or Bone Broth
Part of the cooking process for stock or broth involves breaking down and releasing the fat from the chicken bones. It’s totally normal, and even good, to wind up with layer of fat at the top of your homemade stock or bone broth.
If it bothers you, any fat that collects at the top of homemade stock can be removed. To do this, simply use a spoon to skim off as much of the fat as possible, then discard. If you find this challenging, strain the stock first then refrigerate. The cold temperature will cause the liquid and fat to separate making it easier to remove.
Why is My Overnight Crock Pot Chicken Stock Cloudy?
The main reason for cloudy chicken stock is boiling; this isn’t usually a problem in the Crock Pot because it keeps consistent heat, but it can happen. Here are some possible explanations:
- Cooking on high instead of low. The high setting of most slow cookers can bring liquids to a boil, especially when left for several hours. Cook on low instead.
- Crock Pot is too big. A Crock Pot heats the bottom and sides of the insert. If your Crock Pot is too large for the food inside the increased cooking surface can heat up too much. Use a smaller Crock Pot or double the recipe.
- Slow cooker overheated. The average time for food to reach a simmer in a slow cooker is 7-8 hours on low. A gentle simmer is fine, but too rigorous and you get cloudy stock. Reduce cooking time or remove the lid for a short period of time if your stock starts to boil.
Newer slow cookers actually cook at a higher temperature than old ones, so if you recently upgraded you may have to reduce the cooking time when making overnight chicken stock.
Overnight Chicken Stock in the Crock Pot
Ingredients
Instructions
- After removing all edible meat from the chicken put/leave the bones, skin, cooking juices, etc. in the crock pot. If you are using the chicken carcass from the The Best Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot recipe just leave every single thing that's leftover (except the good meat of course) in the crock pot, including the original onion and spices you used when making the chicken.
- Add the onion, celery, carrot and spices on top of the bones and fill the crock pot almost to the top with tap water (leaving about ½” at the top).
- Turn the slow cooker onto "low" after dinner and cook all night long or alternatively you could start it in the morning and cook on "low" for 8 – 10 hours during the day.
- After the stock is done cooking turn off the heat and, using a soup ladle, pass the stock through a fine sieve to remove all herbs/bones/etc.
- Either refrigerate or freeze the stock for future use. I usually freeze some in both 1 and 2-cup portions, and I also sometimes freeze stock in ice cube trays just in case I just “need a little” for making sauce or rice. This stock is great in soups like chicken noodle soup and also in rice like risotto.
Enjoy!
Jessica says
Can I use the giblets that came inside the chicken (uncooked) in the stock as well? I hate to waste any part.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Jessica. We are rarely bale to answer questions in real time. We've not used the giblets but this might help in the future: http://www.marthastewart.com/340332/giblet-stock. ~Amy
Roy Dollar says
Best chicken stock recipe we've tried. Simple, tried and true. We cook ours about 16 hours.
Caitlin says
Wow. This was amazing! I've never tried making chicken broth before because it seemed difficult, but since I was making the crock pot chicken anyway and had the crock pot out, I figured, why not? I pulled my cooked chicken out of the pot, pulled off all the meat for future casseroles. Then I threw the bones back in the cooker with all the accumulated juices, leftover onion, etc from cooking the chicken. (I threw the skin away). I added more veggies and bay leaf as recommended in the recipe, and filled my 5 or 6 quart crock pot mostly full of water. I cooked it for probably closer to 16 hours. The resulting broth was rich and brown with an intensely chickeney flavor - wow. It blew store-bought broth out of the water! I froze it (15 cups worth) in 1-cup portions in those reusable plastic ZipLoc bowls. When I pulled them out later, each had a little ring of grease around the top that I just quickly scraped off, and I had no problem with my resulting recipes tasting greasy. This made the very best chicken noodle soup I or my husband had ever had. I don't ever want to use the canned stuff again!! Using the extra meat and the broth really made it worth it, budget-wise, to buy that $15 organic chicken too!
Infinity Downline says
Recipe: Overnight Chicken Stock in the Crock Pot - 100 Days of Real Food
Infinity Downline http://InfinityDownline.com/?id=ianhardy007
dena says
Thank you for the response!
I am refrigerating first broth, then scooping fat to save as lard in refrig and putting stock into frig/freezer
I will then reuse the bones as you said for a 'bone broth' for my digestive issues.
Thanks so much!
Dena
dena says
I am confused.... If I cook a whole chicken in the crock pot, my pot is already full of broth after it is done. What I am taking away from the above is:
I cook the whole chicken
Debone the meat
put the bones back into the crock pot with onions, etc...
_here is the part I don't get-
"cover with water" - ???? so does this mean to just fill with water ONTOP OF THE LEFTOVER BROTH ALREADY IN THE CROCKPOT FROM THE FIRST COOKING OF THE CHICKEN... OR TO THROW AWAY THAT BROTH (???? wasteful but maybe it is too fatty) and then add water to bones and cook again a separate process?
Can you please answer this, as i am sitting here with bones and broth and not sure what to do! lol
julia says
Hi Dena, I think the idea is that this is the second meal you're making from that chicken. Definitely do NOT throw away that broth --- that's the richest batch you'll get from that chicken. After you use that broth and eat the meat off of that chicken, you can then put the bones back in the slow cooker, with new vegetables and new water, and get a whole new soup/stock.
Alicia says
Great recipe except my soup has been cooking over night and it is really thin :/
David Rondeau says
I've been trained in classic French cuisine and one should never use salt or garlic in a stock. A stock is considered an ingredient and should be treated as such. One can always add garlic to a recipe later as well as salt. Keep it simple and fresh. One should never stir a stock as well, as far as covering as stock in a slow cooker there is most likely a small steam hole which is o.k. For most stocks longer the better, but vegetable stocks and fish stocks no more than an hour.
Scott says
Thanks for the recipe! Another good way of making broth is to save all the bits of veggies that you don't use, i.e. garlic peels carrot tops etc., in a freezer bag and once you have a freezer bag full use that to make veggie broth or chicken broth. It's cheap, green and good!
Jen says
(Oops sorry Kelly just saw your post after I published my post!)
Jen says
LOVE the crock pot stock! I wanted to add a great suggestion my mom gave me, put in some Vinegar (2 tbsp? More or less?) before cooking it. When it cools, the vinegar seems to have drawn out the minerals etc from the bones, and you get a beautiful jelly-like stock that I think is even much healthier and robust.
(Trying the crock pot chicken tonight and can't wait for the easy stock after!)
Kelly says
Add a Tbsp of Apple cider vinegar to extract all the gelatin for an extra healthy and delicious bone broth. Good for the gut too!
SpoonLickin'Good says
I have been using this and the whole chicken crock pot recipe for months! It's such a cheap, easy, and delicious meal! I alter it slightly, but I don't think you can go wrong with this. Thanks for the inspiration! See how I do it: http://mrscrislip.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/beat-the-clock-crock-pot-chicken-stock/
Cathy Bellio says
Will there really be enough of that true chicken broth favor or kind of tasteless and watery?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi there. I am not sure what you are asking.
Matt Keeling says
I've made this stock five or six times now. I've always made it after making the crock pot chicken, so the skin is also in the pot overnight with the bones, this gives the whole thing more fat content. You also get so much - I just finished up a batch this morning and I think I got more than half a gallon of stock.
Ashley says
I've made this several times now... I thinks it's really rich and flavorful. I actually water it down in soups to make it go further.
Merle says
Amazon has soup socks..about a dollar each...
Merle says
Use a soup sock...so easy to dispose of bones, etc., for a clear stock.
Katrina says
I'm so glad I stumbled upon this recipe. I LOVE it and won't ever go back to store bought broth. In fact, I'm making "the best whole chicken" twice a month just so I can always have broth on hand. It can be really difficult sleeping at night when I do it overnight because I get whiffs of it and it makes me hungry :P Great recipe!
Sharon says
I am looking forward to making broth in the same pot after cooking the chicken. How convenient! The recipe calls for filling the crockpot with water until it's almost full. What is the size of the crockpot you are using in this recipe? Doesn't the size matter otherwise you might get a very dilute broth?
Sharon says
Got my answer. I filled crockpot with water to within 1 inch of top instead of 1/2 inch and got a bland, very dilute stock. Next time I'll stick with adding enough water just to cover bones/veggies. Thanks for the ideas.
Kim says
Sharon, I know your comment is old. But if your stock is too diluted, boil it down and taste-test it until it tastes rich enough. You can even boil it WAY down to make it super-concentrated to save room in your freezer, then add some filtered water when using in a recipe.
Liz says
Hi, what if I don't have a crockpot, but only a large pot that can hold a quart/gallon of water to make the stock? Will that work?
Thanks!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Liz. You can certainly cook a whole chicken in a stock pot, too. You could follow Lisa's recipe regarding ingredients but you would need to cover with water and adjust the time quite a but. Here is some advice on to proceed: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/using-the-whole-chicken. Enjoy. ~Amy
Liz says
Thank you so much for your quick reply, Amy. I'll give it a try!
Moramay says
Hello, we love this recipe, I've been making the chicken plus broth practically every weekend lately. My question is, I find the broth comes out a little too fatty for my taste even though I remove all the skin and leave only the bones. Do you have any ideas to make it less fatty? Thanks for all the great recipes!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi there. You can always skim fat off the top if your prefer. ~Amy
Theresa says
Help! I froze my stock in large mason jars and I just looked and all the jars are cracked!! I'm so disappointed. How do YOU freeze your stock?
Kassie says
I'm no expert, Theresa, but my guess is hot stock into a cold freezer was too much of a temp change for your jars. I plan to re-puropse some glass jars too so hopefully this doesn't happen to me!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Teresa. You do need to be sure your stock is cooled before putting it in the freezer and leave room at the top because the contents will expand. Use wide mouth jars without shoulders, as well. ~Amy
Kim says
Also, you need to use mason jars that don't get smaller at the top - the stock expands as it freezes and puts pressure on the top part of the jar, causing it to crack. Also knows as "wide mouth jars" - like these: http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Mason-Jars-Wide-Mouth-Freeze/dp/B001DIZ1NO
Michelle says
I have been following the challenge for 8 days now. I can't believe how wonderful and easy these recipes are to follow. We used to eat out A LOT and justified "convenience." But NONE of these recipes are hard. Made the chicken stock yesterday. Can't believe I ever bought it already made from the store. This site really is life changing. Thank you!
Angela says
This recipe has changed the way I cook - I make the chicken in a crockpot every week and do this stock recipe following that - I never use store-bought chicken broth now!!! This recipe is so valuable.
Kerri K says
I made this overnight and it turned out wonderful! I was really impressed with how much it made! I hate having to remember to buy broth or stock at the store. I ended up with 3 spaghetti jars full, a frozen 16 & frozen dozen egg carton full! I used green onion instead of white and added half an orange to mine. I love the citrus flavor it added. Thanks for the recipe! :)
Kara says
Thanks for this recipe! Trying it for my first time!
Brandi says
I will be making a turkey this weekend. Would the turkey bones turn out about the same? Any thoughts would be great!
Thank you so much!! Your work as provided such a life change for my family!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hello Brandi. Sorry, getting to this after the weekend. How did your turkey turn out? Did you make a stock? The stock process should be same. ~Amy
Sarah says
I made this after making the best whole chicken in a crock pot. The stock is a beautiful deep red and yielded 32 ounces for me. Very yummy, I added some rosemary.
Meg says
Cooking this right now! Excited! :) Covered or uncovered?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Meg. Always covered in a crock pot or it doesn't get hot enough. ~Amy
Jeni says
I made this recipe last week from leftover bones from a rotisserie chicken. It tasted good but did not have a deep golden color,was on the lighter side. In a recent post I saw that Lisa's was a very deep color. Did I do something wrong? It cooked for 10hrs on low.
Myself and my family love all the recipes! Thank you for all that you do!
Kristen says
One of the other reviews suggested adding fresh lemon and that is exactly what this broth needs! I tasted the broth in the morning and added additional salt, pepper, rose any, thyme and parsley. It still needed more flavor and a fresh squeezed lemon did the trick! It doesn't taste lemony at all but really completes the broth. I'm making the whole roasted chicken today and the using my homemade broth and using the chicken to make chicken and dumplings,
Emma says
I'm a bit pressed for time (silly, I know with crockpot cooking!), can I cook the stock on high for at least a portion of the cooking time? I've cooked it on low now for about 2 hours now.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Emma. Other readers have cooked it on high for a shorter time. ~Amy
Jessica says
I've used this recipe to make stock a few times with perfect results. Great method, great recipe. A time or two it looked good but didn't taste right so I pitched it. The beauty of this recipe is that we ate chicken for dinner and with any luck, we will have wonderful stock in the morning. If it doesn't turn out I will pitch it and at that point, I'm really only a carrot, a rib of celery and an onion invested. The last few times this has turned out very well so I'm hopeful tonight's batch will be a delish.
Lindsey Griffith says
I'm sure this has been asked and answered already but I'm not sure.... How long does the stock stay fresh in the fridge? (I have made this stock a couple of times now and I love it.) I use it so much I don't have need to freeze it. But I was out of town and now I don't know if I should toss or keep?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Lindsey. Chicken stock shouldn't be kept beyond three or four days. It should be frozen if you want to extend its use. ~Amy
Kim says
Made the chicken last night, and the stock is cooking now! Next is the broccoli cheddar bacon soup! Yum! :)
Jamie Dunson says
I think it needs more flavor but I use it for any recipe that calls for it. So worth it over the conventional stuff.
Hillary says
Okay, so here is what happened...I made the roasted chicken....forgot all about it and 14 hours later came back. Chicken was dried out (didn't know that was possible in a crockpot. Oops! So I took out most of the meat...but I'll be honest, not all of it. Left everything else in there. Added the ingredients for the broth, and did the chicken broth. Now that I did properly. But went to the broth the next day, brought it to room temp...wasn't completely there before I had to leave so I put a few ice cubes in it.. Refrigerated it for a day and planned to make soup today. Got it out warmed up the broth and notice it was dark (like deep caramel)...is it ruined? Should I just toss it? Hopefully someone will answer before Wed...else I'll just toss. Last thing I need to do is make someone sick!
Jamie Dunson says
Because it was still cooking I don't think the chicken or broth is necessarily bad. It's been awhile since I made it but I used some last night from the freezer in the broccoli cheddar soup and it wasn't caramel color. It was yellow. So that's your call maybe the bones darkened when it was cooking for so long and caused the strange color. Sorry I'm late, it's Wednesday!
Reid says
I've heard that adding vinegar to the boil when making stock from bones helps pull the nutrients from the bones and marrow and thereby makes a tastier & healthier stock. Does anyone know how much vinegar to add, what kind of vinegar is best and if it actually works? Also, I've also heard that chicken skin is the least healthy part of the animal because of all the fat, toxins, etc that may be in the skin so it should be discarded prior to making stock. Anyone have thoughts on this skin/no skin?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi there. This blogger has a perspective which might help: http://www.motherlindas.com/chicken_stock_101.htm as well as this one: http://paleohacks.com/questions/65429/hack-my-bone-broth-vinegar-vs-no-vinegar.html#axzz2nplrFqAC. ~Amy
Andy says
The crockpot chicken came out pretty good, but when I made the stock out of it I was disappointed. Very, very dark brown and had a strange flavor. I think the onions got caramelized during the initial chicken recipe and that transferred over to the stock. I will probably make the chicken again, but then just take the carcass and make my stock the way I always have: on the stove with fresh onions, garlic, carrots and parsley.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Franki. A couple hours should be fine but you don't want to mess with food borne illness, so beyond that it should be kept at safe temperature. ~Amy
franki says
So I made my stock overnight, strained it this morning and left it to cool. Even though the crock pot was on warm by this morning it was bit bubbly. This was at about 8 am. Then I took the kids to school and forgot about it until 11:30. Do I need to toss it? I refrigerated it promptly and plan on boiling it rapidly when I make my chicken soup with it later.