Overnight Chicken Stock

Quart jars of chicken stock, resting on a striped dishtowel
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Whole chicken and vegetables in a large stock pot with water

A while back I posted a recipe for Instant Pot chicken stock, and I still use that recipe once in a while when I need chicken stock quickly or I need to make multiple batches for a big cook. In the last couple of years, though, I’ve gone back to my old stand-by of overnight chicken stock made in the oven. I get a richer, more gelatinized stock and I have a whole chicken’s worth of meat – usually about 1-1/4 lb or so – to use in meals later, for chicken salad or enchiladas or anything else that I might want to make.

A little over a pound and a half of shredded chicken from the chicken stock

If you’re reluctant to leave your oven on overnight, you can make this in a slow cooker or Crockpot, but I can get a lot more liquid out of my large Lodge Dutch Oven. You can also use a large stockpot like this 8 qt Henckels Stock Pot, just make sure it’s oven safe.

I like to start this cooking in the evening while I’m putting together dinner. After dinner I’ll pull out the chicken and pick off the useable meat, then put the bones and skin back in the pot overnight. In the morning I’ll quickly strain off the liquid and put it in the fridge until I can portion it out into jars for freezing.

Whole cooked chicken in a stock pot full of chicken broth
A flat vacuum-sealed bag of amber chicken stock on a granite counter.
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Overnight Chicken Stock

One big pot, a 210°F oven, and a night’s sleep. Makes 8 to 10 quarts in a 14-quart pot.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time12 hours
Total Time12 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 8 quarts
Calories: 86kcal

Equipment

  • 1 14-quart stockpot oven safe; a smaller pot works with backs only or a small roaster chicken
  • Vacuum sealer and bags optional, for storage

Ingredients

  • 3 lb whole chicken
  • 2 lb chicken backs, bones, or saved scraps about
  • 1 large yellow onion skin on
  • 3 stalks celery hearts or ends
  • 2 whole carrots skin on, scrubbed
  • 20 each whole peppercorns
  • 3 each bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 10 quarts water or to about 2 inches below the rim

Instructions

  • Remove any giblet packet from the chicken. (Optional: roast the chicken, backs, and bones first for a deeper, browner stock.) Put the chicken, backs, and bones in the pot.
  • Add the vegetables, seasonings, and water.
  • Cook in a 210°F oven for about 2 hours.
  • Pull out the whole chicken and pick off the meat for other dishes. Return the bones and skin to the pot and cook another 10 to 12 hours.
  • Strain through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. Discard the bones, vegetables, and skin.
  • Chill, then skim the fat. Portion into vacuum-seal bags, seal, and freeze flat so they stack. Fridge 3 to 5 days, freezer up to 6 months.

Notes

Can’t get to it in the morning? Reset the oven and let it go a few more hours. At 210°F the stock stays well above the food-safety danger zone (40–140°F), so there’s no rush; strain it when you can. The spent bones and vegetables can go to Millicent, or the trash if you must.
Check your oven for an auto-off. Many newer ovens shut themselves off after 8, 10, or 12 hours, and an oven that quietly turned itself off at 4 a.m. has left your stock cooling into the danger zone. If you can set the cook length, do that. If not, turn the oven off and immediately back on right before bed, and again in the morning if you need more time.
The meat pull (whole chicken only): pulling at two hours means flavorful, not overcooked, meat. Leave it the full time if you want; it’ll still do fine in chicken salad.
Skim and keep the fat. Once chilled, the solidified fat lifts right off. That’s schmaltz; it goes in the freezer, not the trash.
Storage: fridge 3–5 days; freezer up to 6 months.