Golden chicken stock starts with roasted bones. That single step — roasting the carcasses and wings until golden and deeply coloured before they go near water — is what separates this from a pale, bland stock made with raw bones. The result is richer, deeper, and more versatile than standard chicken stock, and it freezes well either as a full stock or reduced to a concentrated base.
The colour comes from the bones. The flavour comes from both the bones and the aromatics. Skimming early and keeping the simmer gentle keeps it clean.
The servings number is the litres of un-reduced stock this recipe produces
Ingredients
- 3.5 kg Chicken bones, carcasses, leg bones and wings (feet optional)
- 1 large White onion, sliced
- 3 Carrots, roughly chopped
- 3 sticks Celery, roughly chopped
- 1 Leek, sliced
- 2 Bay leaves
- 10 g Fresh thyme
- 5 g Fresh rosemary
- 10 g Flat leaf parsley
- 20 Black peppercorns
- 6 litres Cold water
Spread the chicken bones, carcasses and wings across roasting trays in a single layer. Roast at 200°C for around 1 hour until golden and deeply coloured, turning once halfway through.
Heat some oil in the stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and sweat until softened, then add the carrots, celery and leek. Cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften and smell fragrant.
Add the roasted bones to the pot along with the thyme, rosemary and peppercorns. Pour over the cold water and bring slowly to a simmer over medium heat.
As the stock approaches a simmer, a grey foam will rise to the surface. Skim it off thoroughly using a stock skimmer. Keep skimming for the first 20–30 minutes until the surface is clean.
Maintain a gentle simmer for 2–3 hours. The surface should move but not boil aggressively. Top up with water only if the bones become exposed.
Turn off the heat. Add the parsley and leave to cool in the pot. As the stock cools, skim any fat or impurities that rise to the surface.
Strain through a fine chinois or muslin cloth into a clean container. Discard the solids. Cool rapidly in a sink of iced water before refrigerating or freezing.
Use the stock as is, freeze in large blocks for general use, or reduce to one fifth of its original volume and freeze in ice cube trays as a concentrated base. Each cube is a ready-made portion for soups, risottos, and pan sauces.
Notes & Substitutions
Bone choice: A mix of carcasses, leg bones and wings gives the best balance of flavour and gelatin. Wings are particularly good for gelatin — they have a high ratio of cartilage to meat. Feet, if you can source them, add even more gelatin and body.
Colour: The golden colour comes entirely from roasting the bones properly. If the finished stock is pale, the bones weren’t roasted long enough or the tray was overcrowded and they steamed rather than roasted.
Scaling: This recipe scales proportionally — double the bones, double the water, double the aromatics. Simmer time stays the same regardless of batch size.
Uses: Golden chicken stock works anywhere a standard chicken stock is called for, but with more depth. Particularly good for risotto, velouté, pan sauces, and soups where the stock is a central flavour rather than background liquid.
Yield: Approximately 5–6 litres of finished stock before reduction.
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Golden Chicken Stock
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Ingredients
- 3.5 kg Chicken bones (carcasses, leg bones and wings (feet optional))
- 1 large White onion (sliced)
- 3 Carrots (roughly chopped)
- 3 sticks Celery (roughly chopped)
- 1 Leek (sliced)
- 2 Bay leaves
- 10 g Fresh thyme
- 5 g Fresh rosemary
- 10 g Flat leaf parsley
- 20 Black peppercorns
- 6 litres Cold water
Method
Roast the bones
Spread the chicken bones, carcasses and wings across roasting trays in a single layer. Roast at 200°C for around 1 hour until golden and deeply coloured, turning once halfway through.
Don’t crowd the tray — bones need space to roast rather than steam. Use two trays if needed. The goal is a deep golden colour throughout, not pale on the bottom and dark on top.
Sweat the vegetables
Heat some oil in the stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and sweat until softened, then add the carrots, celery and leek. Cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften and smell fragrant.
Add the bones and water
Add the roasted bones to the pot along with the thyme, rosemary and peppercorns. Pour over the cold water and bring slowly to a simmer over medium heat.
Starting with cold water draws impurities from the bones slowly, making them easier to skim cleanly. Hot water added to hot bones drives impurities straight into suspension.
Skim the surface
As the stock approaches a simmer, a grey foam will rise to the surface. Skim it off thoroughly using a stock skimmer. Keep skimming for the first 20–30 minutes until the surface is clean.
Simmer
Maintain a gentle simmer for 2–3 hours. The surface should move but not boil aggressively. Top up with water only if the bones become exposed.
Unlike beef stock, which benefits from 8–10 hours, chicken stock reaches its peak at around 2–3 hours. Simmering longer doesn’t improve it — it diminishes it.
Add parsley and cool
Turn off the heat. Add the parsley and leave to cool in the pot. As the stock cools, skim any fat or impurities that rise to the surface.
Strain
Strain through a fine chinois or muslin cloth into a clean container. Discard the solids. Cool rapidly in a sink of iced water before refrigerating or freezing.
Press gently on the solids when straining to extract the last of the liquid — but don’t force it through. Pushing too hard can drive fine particles through the chinois and cloud the stock.
Freeze or reduce
Use the stock as is, freeze in large blocks for general use, or reduce to one fifth of its original volume and freeze in ice cube trays as a concentrated base. Each cube is a ready-made portion for soups, risottos, and pan sauces.
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