Invisible Keto

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Meat → Chicken →

Chicken Stock

Pressure Cooker Method

Developed by Chris Young at The Fat Duck, one of the world's most-respected restaurants, this approach is cheap, quick, and much more flavorful than the traditional.

This approach to chicken stock emphasizes meat rather than bones and uses a pressure cooker (such as an Instant Pot) to more effectively extract flavor from the vegetables and significantly reduce cooking time.

The result is stock that actually tastes like chicken.

Ingredients

  • 1 roast chicken from a supermarket (let them do the work for you!)
  • Half an onion
  • Half a carrot
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 quarts (8 cups) water

Method

Prep

  1. Start the water boiling; this will reduce the pressure cooker time.
  2. Start heating neutral oil in the pressure cooker using the sauté mode.

Vegetables

  1. Slice the onion and carrot and smash the garlic.
  2. Sweat the vegetables in the pressure cooker to lightly brown.

Chicken

  1. Strip all the meat and shred it.
  2. Place meat and bones in the pressure cooker.

Cooking

  1. Add the boiling water to the pressure cooker.
  2. Seal the pressure cooker with the lid, set to 40 minutes and bring to pressure.
  3. When the time has elapsed, either let the pressure cooker cool or slowly release pressure — do not release pressure all at once, as that will cause violent boiling that ruins the stock.
  4. Strain the stock and use or store.

Storage

Store the stock promptly after straining.

  • Refrigerator: Cool and refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3–4 days.
  • Freezer: Freeze for longer storage. Portioning into small containers or silicone molds (e.g., 1/2 cup or 1 cup portions) makes it easy to use later.

As the stock cools, it may gel due to gelatin extracted from the bones. This is a good sign and indicates body; it will return to liquid when reheated.

For convenience, you can reduce the stock slightly before storing to concentrate flavor and save space, then dilute when using if desired.

Always bring refrigerated or thawed stock to a simmer before using.

Inspirations

Traditional Method

Bone-based, long-simmering-on-the-stove stocks have been the approach since time immemorial (or at least since Escoffier, which is the same thing). See the Pressure Cooker Method for a modern approach.

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken carcass (from a roasted chicken) or 2–3 lb raw chicken backs, wings, or necks
  • 1 medium yellow onion, thickly sliced
  • 1 medium carrot, thickly sliced
  • 1 celery stalk, thickly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
  • Small handful parsley stems
  • 6–8 black peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Cold water, to barely cover

Method

Roast the Bones

If using the carcass from an already roasted chicken, this step can be skipped.

  1. Heat oven to 425–450°F (220–230°C).
  2. Spread chicken bones in a lightly oiled roasting pan.
  3. Roast until browned, about 25–35 minutes, turning once or twice.

Make the Stock

  1. Transfer the bones to a stockpot.
  2. If the bones were roasted, deglaze the roasting pan with about 1 cup water and add this liquid to the pot.
  3. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley stems, peppercorns, bay leaf, and a small pinch of salt.
  4. Add cold water just to cover the ingredients.
  5. Bring to a gentle simmer. Avoid boiling, which can cloud the stock.
  6. Simmer 1½–3 hours, skimming foam if necessary.
  7. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard solids.
  8. For stronger flavor, reduce the stock to taste.

Use immediately or store.