HOW TO: Can Chicken Stock

There is something about things being homemade - the taste is so much better and you know you took the time to make it. You appreciate it more.  You can catch up here on how to make chicken stock from a whole chicken.

Have you looked at the prices of organic chicken stock lately? It is not cheap at all. Why not make your own, if you can?

Out of one medium chicken I canned 7 pints. That is about 7 different meals for my family! Awesome. :)

Pssst, hey, it's organic too!

As always, sterilize your jars, lids, and bands. (Oops, I misspelled sterilize in the photo - sorry!!)

I always heat anything up that I am putting in glass jars because I am so afraid of breakage. Before you ladle the chicken stock into the jars you can heat it up. 

For step by step picture instructions you can catch up on this post. 

Pressure can the chicken stock for 90 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. After the 90 minutes wait until the canner completely cools. 

That's it! Very easy for frugal, organic chicken stock!

Homemade Chicken Stock

Whenever whole chickens are on sale I go crazy. Not only are whole chickens yummy, but they are extremely frugal as well. You can always get a crazy amount of chicken, but you get to make homemade stock with the "trash" parts. Or should I say... the "gold" parts! :)

If you have never done it before - it's ok, it's really easy.

Ingredients
Chicken Bones (check out how I cooked the whole chicken HERE)
celery, chopped
carrots, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp pepper

With the ingredients you can just throw in whatever you might have in your fridge. It is usually items you make a nice soup with.

Directions
Put all of the chicken bones (after the chicken has been completely picked off) and put in the crock pot.
Add about 20 cups of water (try and fill near the top, if you can)
Add in your fridge veggies.
Add in the bay leaves and pepper.
I cook it for a nice 10 hours in the crock pot.
Allow the pot to cool and strain the bones and veggies.

You can freeze chicken bone for up to 1 year and let sit in the fridge for about 3 days.

Recipe: Whole Chicken {Crock Pot} - The Best Ever!

Investing in a crock pot using our wedding funds was the best idea ever! Everything tastes great in the crock pot no matter what it is. The long, slow cooking is the best. 

Yum. 

I have always roasted my whole chickens in the oven, but not anymore baby! Those bad boys are going straight to the crock pot. 

The best part of cooking a whole chicken is you get to make homemade stock. Nothing beats homemade. :)

Ingredients

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp thyme

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp pepper (I eyeball it)

1 large chicken, thawed and ready to be cooked

When your chicken is done cooking you can either shred it or eat it by itself. The flavors are just that darn good. 

Directions

In a small bowl combine all the spices. 

Remove and giblets from inside the chicken and dispose of them. 

Rub the spices all over that bad boy. 

Cook on low for 8 hours. No need to add any water or anything like that. 

Remember to save the bones and skin so you can make stock. I will post that by tomorrow.