Slow cooker Chicken Stock (aka Bone Broth)

Slow cooker chicken stock was a game changer for me. I use to carefully set up my stock on the stove and let it bubble away all night long in the dutch oven. It worked, but there was definitely room for error. I've had the burner get bumped higher and over boil the stock to almost nothing or worse, burn the stock. I've also had the opposite happen, where the burner was turned too low and my stove decided that meant it was off, therefor letting the stock go cold and go to waste.

I stumbled on making slow cooker chicken stock when I was house sitting my in-laws. They have a gas range and there was no way I was going to let the stock bubble away all night, unsupervised, on a gas range. So I grabbed my mother in-laws crock pot and gave it a try. It created the BEST turkey broth I had ever had. So naturally I repeated it at home, this time with chicken, and again it was EASY and AMAZING. I've converted, I won't go back.

I know, I know...

You're probably looking at the above pictures like 'Alycia that's not stock, that looks like a gelatinous aspic they made in the 60's and 70's". I promise it's not an aspic. The idea of an aspic actually grosses me out. But this is what good stock looks like when it's chilled.

By cooking the stock so long (and adding the vinegar) we leach out all the good stuff from the bones, including the collagen, which makes the stock look a little like jello. In other words you WANT your stock to jiggle when cold. It might be strange at first but it's true.

Chilling your stock is also a great way to control how much fat you use. That thick yellow layer of fat is good for you and it's full of flavor. But if you want a nice mug of stock to sip on in the morning you're not going to want a lot of fat in your cup. You can even scrap off the cooled fat and use it in another recipe, like in place of butter or lard in baked goods.

Is that better?

If you're going to use the stock for soups then that layer of fat is your friend. It becomes those beautiful golden puddles on the surface of the broth.
Which adds flavor and texture to your soup.

I've made stock like this using chicken, turkey, and even pork bones. I believe it will work for beef, veggies, and even fish stock (though I probably wouldn't cook it for as long for the veggies and fish). I now keep a stock bag in my freezer where we can put an assortment of bones to be turned into stock at a later date.

What do I use all this stock for? I make soups like Chicken dumpling, Turkey tortilla, and Ramen. I'll also save some in ice cube trays and freeze them. I can easily add them to sauces that way. Or if I'm feeling it, I like to sip on a mug of flavorful stock instead of tea. It's easy to pop a few stock cubes in a mug and microwave it.

Oh and before I forget. I mainly refer to this recipe as a stock, but it can also be called a bone broth. Broth is thin and usually made with meat, whereas stock is made from the bones. I think bone broth sounds better than bone stock so that's probably why it was named that way. In any case Stock and Bone Broth are interchangeable.

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