A useful item to have around on a regular basis is chicken stock. Having it enables you to cook many dishes you might come across in cookbooks or on recipe websites. Besides saving money my making it yourself with leftover chicken, you will be making something homemade that doesn’t have all the junk that is in most chicken broths or stocks available at the store. They actually list chemicals on the side of Swanson’s broth.

I store my chicken stock in either freezer bags or freezer containers. I have also frozen it in ice cube trays and then placed the frozen cubes in freezer bags for convenient use later. I love to simmer root vegetables like carrots, onions, parsnips, and turnips in chicken stock and butter. Chicken stock is also useful in Italian dishes, quick soups, and for seasoning in casseroles.

What is the difference between a stock and a broth?

• Stock is made with bones as well as meat and seasonings. Stock will have a different texture due to the collagen and connective tissues. In laymen’s terms, it will have a little more of an oily texture. When you put it in the refrigerator it will like have a bit of a gel appearance.
• Broth is made with only meat and seasonings. This is useful for dishes in which you do not want a heavy texture but rather just a flavorful liquid seasoning.

I found this nice instructional video on how to make a chicken stock. This guy is easy to understand. This guy is right on the money about having fresh thyme in your stock.