Skip to content
Pinch of Mint
Search recipes

How to make chicken stock, light and dark

How to make chicken stock, light and dark, photographed for Pinch of Mint

By Tom · Updated

Jump to recipe
  • About 5 hours 30 min
  • Takes a bit of care

Making chicken stock is less about sticking to a recipe and more about the cooking technique. You can take the same ingredients and the cooking technique will dictate how the recipe will turn out. These chicken stocks are the perfect example.

Loads from YouTube only once you press play.

The recipe

How to make chicken stock, light and dark

Making chicken stock is less about sticking to a recipe and more about the cooking technique.

  • 30 min prep
  • 5 hours cooking
  • Takes a bit of care

Times and difficulty are our estimates from the method, not stopwatch figures.

Quantities
Measurements

Ingredients

The dark stock

The light stock

Tick things off as you go — they stay ticked if you close the page.

A dotted underline means the amount has been rounded to something you can measure.

Method

  1. Step 1

    Step One - Preheat Oven to 230°C - 446°F.

  2. Step 2

    Step Two - Prepare vegetables by leaving any of the skins on and roughly chopping.

  3. Step 3

    Step Three - Place the cooked bones and roughly chopped vegetables into a baking dish.

  4. Step 4

    Step Four - Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the bones and vegetables are browned. Stir after the first 20 minutes to ensure everything is coated in the chicken fat to help with the browning.

  5. Step 5

    Step Five - Next, place everything into a saucepan and top up with cold water (4 l).

  6. Step 6

    Step Six - Add Herbs, Black peppercorns (1 tsp) and Tomato purée (10 g). Stir and bring to a boil.

  7. Step 7

    Step Seven - Turn down the heat to a gentle simmer and skim off any scum and fat as it appeared on the surface using a ladle.

  8. Step 8

    Step Eight - Simmer for 3 to 4 hours and pass through a sieve.

How to make light chicken stock

  1. Step 1

    Step One - place raw bones into a saucepan and top up with cold water (4 l).

  2. Step 2

    Step Two - Bring to a boil and turn down to a gentle simmer. Cook for 30 minutes and skim off any scum and fat that forms on the surface.

  3. Step 3

    Step Three - Prepare the vegetables by removing any skins and roughly chopping.

  4. Step 4

    Step Four - Add the vegetables into the pan followed by the herbs and black peppercorns (1 tsp).

  5. Step 5

    Step Five - Simmer for 3 to 4 hours and pass through a sieve.

  6. Step 6

    You will notice in these recipes I don't add any salt, this is because it allows you to season from a neutral standpoint when you use your homemade chicken stock in a recipe. There is nothing wrong with adding salt but I will leave that choice down to you.

  7. Step 7

    Both of these Chicken Stocks can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days or can be frozen in a suitable container for 6-9 months.

Stay in the loop

Get new recipes in your inbox

Occasional emails with new recipes, cooking tips and what’s new at Pinch of Mint.

See our Privacy Policy for information about how your personal data is used.

More chicken sauces and basics

Also in The Sunday roast.

Questions people ask

How long does how to make chicken stock, light and dark take?

About 5 hours 30 min from start to finish, of which 30 min is prep and 5 hours is cooking. That figure is worked out from the method rather than timed with a stopwatch, so give yourself a little more the first time.

How much does this make?

The original recipe did not state a yield, so nothing has been invented for it. The scale control on the recipe card multiplies the quantities instead, which is the honest version of the same thing.

Can I see the ingredients in ounces and pints?

Yes. The metric and imperial switch on the recipe card converts every quantity, rounded to amounts you can actually weigh or measure rather than to four decimal places. Your choice is remembered for every recipe on the site.