This is pretty simple, but takes about four hours to fully cook. Once it’s ready, use it as a base for chicken vegetable soup seasoned however you want it, or any other recipe that calls for chicken broth.

Carcass or bones leftover from a whole chicken, turkey, duck, etc.
1-2 onions
1-2 carrots
1-2 stalks of celery
2-3 cloves of garlic
mushrooms (optional)
1-2 bay leaves
parsley
salt
pepper

Chop the onions, carrots, and celery roughly, about 2-3-inch pieces. Don’t bother removing the onion or garlic skins, or peeling the carrots — these will add to the flavor. Add everything to a stock pot and cover with water. Seasonings can be added “to taste.”

Cover the pot and bring to a boil. If your carcass was in the freezer, it will take longer; keep an eye on it. Once it’s boiling, bring the heat down to low and simmer for about four hours. Check on it once an hour or so and add more water if it’s boiling down too much.

Take off the heat and let it cool for about 15 minutes or so. Using a strainer inside another large pot, pour the stock into the strainer. It’s best to do this in the sink and keep an eye on how much liquid is going into the pot, being sure not to overflow.

Once the liquid is separated, you can use it to start another soup. Or, let it cool completely and pour into sealable plastic containers and freeze.

General advice from chefs is to throw out all the solid matter and start with fresh chicken if you’re making chicken soup. The broth already has all the flavor from those ingredients. However, if you want, you can separate the meat from the bones (being careful with the tiny vertebrae) and re-add it to your soup. It’s still filling and helps get the most out of the animal’s sacrifice.