Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

A friend tried my roasted chicken recipe and afterward she made chicken stock in her slow cooker. She told me that once I tried it I would never make stock on the stove top again.

So, the last time I roasted a chicken, I put the frame in the slow cooker overnight along with all the necessary ingredients and when I got up in the morning...voila chicken stock! My friend was right. I will never again make chicken stock any other way.

So, then, I took that chicken stock -- all eight cups -- and made a double batch of my pressure cooker chicken noodle soup.

The dreaded Fall cold has swept through the George house, so this soup will have us all feeling better in no time -- and there's enough to freeze! BTW, both the soup and the stock by itself freeze nicely.

XOXO,
Amy

PS: No slow cooker? Check out how to make chicken stock the old fashioned way in Andrea's post "Chicken Stock & Chicken Tortellini Soup."

Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

Frame of one roasted chicken
Two carrots, peeled
Two celery stalks
1 medium to large onion, peeled and quartered
1 lemon, sliced in half
2 to 3 garlic cloves, pierced with a knife but left whole
1 bay leaf
Fresh herbs (whatever you have on hand), tied into a bouquet with kitchen twine if you have it

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and fill to top with water. Set to low for eight hours.

Remove chicken frame and all the solid ingredients. Pour stock into containers, using a mesh strainer to catch all the small bits and pieces. Place stock in refrigerator. I recommend not using the stock right away but letting it cool in the fridge so that you can remove the light layer of congealed fat that forms at the top of the broth. After you do that, use the broth in your favorite soup or recipe or freeze for later.