chicken stock in the slow cooker?

We had a wonderful roast chicken for dinner tonight. I always use my roast chicken carcass to make chicken stock, but I usually just put it on the stove top with some celery,carrots, onion, bay leaf, and parsley and let it simmer for an hour or a little more. I got a slow cooker for Christmas and am looking for a practical use for it. So far I've made a very awful greek chicken stew and a beef ragu that was excellent, but involved browning meat and veggies before hand and cooking on the stove top at the end to finish it. I'm hoping to make my chicken stock in the slow cooker overnight. Any advice about the best way to do this? Opinions about whether this is a good way to make chicken stock?

erinbdm
  • Posted by: erinbdm
  • January 31, 2014
  • 4037 views
  • 5 Comments

5 Comments

erinbdm
erinbdm February 1, 2014
Thanks sexyLAMBCHOP--I saw that recipe when I was looking into it and am definitely planning to try it. I was so intrigued though that I want to get the chicken wings and do it their way.
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx
sexyLAMBCHOPx February 1, 2014
I use my slow cooker all the time for chicken stock. Here's a recipe and info from Smitten Kitchen. It calls for wings but you can defiantly use the carcass. http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/11/perfect-uncluttered-chicken-stock/
 
Adianne
Adianne February 1, 2014
I use the always cooker for stock frequently ad iris great.
 
maryvelasquez
maryvelasquez January 31, 2014
I regularly make stock with a chicken carcass and whatever veggies and herbs I have- onions, leeks, celery, carrots, fennel, parsley, turnips...any combo. Put everything in the pot, cover with cold water, and set the slow cooker for 6-8 hours. Remove solids, chill, skim if needed; freeze or use right away.
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. January 31, 2014
some thoughts: i certainly think you could use it for that. There are, as w/ most cooking things, 'procedures' for doing certain things, incl. stocks, but i don't think they must always be followed. I also make stock from leftover carcasses but i save a few of them and make a big batch (but then i have alot of frzr space.) For a small batch: Is your slow cooker big enough to fit the bones and vegs and water to cover by 3-4 inches? If not, i'd not use the slow cooker.
BUT, if yes, the 'rules' for chix stock call for starting w/ cold water, bringing to boil, skimming foam for awhile til no more, adding herbs etc and simmering for 6 or so hrs. Can your slow cooker be dialed up to get the water to boil? if not, you could do on stove and then transfer to your slow cooker, or not do the boiling step. The foam, if not removed, is not at all harmful; it just cloudies the stock (and maybe that doesn't matter at all for you, if you're not making bouillon[sp]!) Slow even cooking is a great thing for a stock.
{ BTW, i'm guessing that slow cooking for 4+ hours is what SCs do best, and chicken will pretty much always dry out when cooked that long. just isn't enough fat in it. Tougher cuts of meat- beef, lamb, pork, boar etc. is i think what SCs are best at. But then again, i do not own one so i could be completely wrong about that.)
 
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