So last November, Black Friday to be more specific, I bought myself a little present. I impulse bought an Instant Pot, at a hefty 35% discount, I might add. I’ve been experimenting with the Instant Pot for a few months and the other day I made my first Instant Pot Chicken Stock. OMG. You guys. This is the best chicken stock I’ve ever made. The extra pressure during cooking really pulls out so much more flavor and collagen to make an ultra rich broth.
What is an Instant Pot?
Instant Pots are a 7-in-1 magical cooking device (or a pressure cooker) that also does a bunch of other cool stuff. These all-in-one devices have been taking the cooking world by storm for the past five years. I had already been on the market to buy a pressure cooker and the wide array of other features this one offered sold me instantly (no pun intended).
I bought an Instant Pot primarily to make cooking dry beans and “slow cooked” meat faster, and didn’t really intend to post about it much on Budget Bytes. You see, I don’t want to give anyone the false impression that you need fancy, expensive equipment to make good food, because you absolutely DO NOT. This machine is just fun and makes life a little faster and easier. For everything else, I still prefer to cook on the stove top or just take the long route with a slow cooker.
What is the Difference Between Chicken Stock and Chicken Broth?
Both chicken stock and chicken broth are made by simmering chicken parts in water with other flavorful ingredients. Chicken stock tends to be richer, which comes from cooking the broth with more bones and connective tissues (sometimes called “bone broth”). Since the bones and connective tissue have a lot more collagen than chicken broth, chicken stock will sometimes be a gel when chilled instead of liquid. They can usually be used interchangeably in recipes, but chicken stock will give you a lot more flavor.
Can I Make Chicken Broth Without An Instant Pot?
You can absolutely make chicken stock or broth on the stove top or in a regular (and inexpensive) slow cooker. I’ve made tutorials for both in the past: How to Make Chicken Broth (stove top) and How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Broth. With both of those methods, just keep in mind that the longer the cook, the better.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Stock
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken carcass
- 1 yellow onion
- 1-2 carrots
- 1-2 stalks celery
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- Freshly cracked pepper or whole peppercorns
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on to Sauté mode. Add the chicken carcass pieces and sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until browned and pieces begin to stick to the bottom of the pot. Press the cancel button to turn off the heat.
- Cut the ends off the onion, then cut it in half or into quarters. Remove any of the papery skin if it has dirt on it, otherwise leave the skin on. Scrub the carrots and celery. Cut them in half so they fit easily within the pot. Peel the garlic cloves and add them to the pot with the bay leaves, some freshly cracked pepper (or 10-15 whole peppercorns, if available), and a splash of apple cider vinegar.
- Pour 8 cups of cool water over the contents of the pot (do not fill more than 2/3 to the top). Lock the lid into place, close the steam release valve, and press the “manual” button. The display will show 30, indicating the default time set for that mode. We want it to cook for 30 minutes, so no need to adjust the time. After 10 seconds the display will turn to “ON” indicating that it is heating and pressure is building (this takes about 10-15 minutes).
- Once the pot has reached high pressure, the display will begin to count down 30 minutes. When 30 minutes is up, it will beep and switch to “keep warm” mode. Press the cancel button and allow the pressure in the pot to reduce naturally (this takes about 15 minutes). You’ll know the pressure is at a safe level and it’s okay to open the pot when the silver float valve on the lid has fallen down and is no longer elevated. Open the steam release valve, then carefully open the lid.
- Place a fine wire mesh strainer over a large bowl, then ladle the stock into the bowl through the strainer to catch any pieces. When the level gets too low to ladle, remove the large pieces and carefully pour the remaining liquid through the strainer. Taste the stock and add salt if desired.
- Place the stock in an air-tight container and refrigerate until completely cool. Keep the stock refrigerated and use within three days, or freeze for longer storage.
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Equipment
Notes
How to Make Chicken Stock in an Instant Pot – Step by Step Photos
We’ve bought a few rotisserie chickens lately and instead of tossing the carcass, we put the WHOLE thing into a freezer bag and “tossed” it into the freezer. This one had a few pieces of chicken still left that we didn’t get around to eating. I think using a rotisserie chicken added extra flavor because everything had already been slow roasted.
Press the “Sauté” button, which will heat the bottom of the pot like a hot plate. Add the chicken pieces and sauté for a few minutes, or until they begin to brown and stick to the bottom of the pot.
See how it’s browned and stuck to the bottom? Those browned bits will add a LOT of flavor to the broth. Now press the “cancel” button to turn off the heat.
I haven’t had many vegetable scraps lately, so I bought a carrot and some celery fresh, but you can save your vegetable scraps in a freezer bag the same way we saved our chicken carcass, and then use them for the stock (just make sure to clean them REALLY well). Because I didn’t have any scraps this time around, I used one big carrot, two stalks of celery, one yellow onion (with peel but dirty ends cut off) and two cloves of garlic. I also added two bay leaves, a splash (about 1 tsp) of apple cider vinegar, and some freshly cracked pepper. I thought I had whole peppercorns in my pantry, but I was wrong, but a little cracked pepper did the job just fine.
Add 8 cups water, or enough to cover the chicken by a couple of inches, but do NOT fill the pot more than 2/3 full.
Lock the lid into place and close the steam valve. Press the “Manual” button, which is just the basic pressure cooker function. The display will show 30 minutes, which is the default time set for that mode. We want 30 minutes, so no need to press + or – to adjust the time. After 10 seconds, the display will switch to “On” and it will begin to heat. Once it reaches the proper heat and pressure (after about 10-15 minutes), the display will begin to count down 30 minutes.
After cooking at high pressure for 30 minutes, it will beep and switch to “Keep Warm” mode. Press the cancel button and allow the pressure to come down naturally (this takes about 15 minutes). You’ll know the pressure is at a safe level when the silver float valve on top has fallen back down and is no longer elevated. Open the steam valve first, then open the lid. This is what you’ll see. :) And oh my, does it ever smell amazing!
To separate the liquid gold from the debris, just place a fine wire mesh sieve over a large bowl and ladle the stock through the sieve. For extra filtering, you can use cheese cloth, but I found that the mesh sieve worked fine. When you get down towards the bottom of the pot, just remove the large pieces and carefully pour the rest through the sieve.
Taste the stock and add salt if you prefer. I added about 1/2 tsp. Refrigerate the stock and use within three days, or freeze for longer storage. I filled two containers like this before placing it in the refrigerator to cool. Separating it into smaller containers helps it cool faster.
I’m not kidding when I say that this stock was so good that I wanted to just drink it like a beverage. And I might just do that next time because apparently it’s really good for you. I ended up using it to make more Matzo Ball Soup yesterday, but it would also be really good for making chicken pho or ramen. This Instant Pot Chicken Stock was super thick and flavorful, and gelled up nicely when cooled. That’s how you know you got all the good stuff out of the bones! :D
Is it silly that I think it’s beautiful??
Excellent recipe. I add more salt. This is so simple.
I broke in my IP by making two batches of this last night, because I had two chicken carcasses on hand (so, yes, my freezer was getting very full). The first one I made using some clean vegetable trimmings I’d been saving in the freezer, and the second I made using fresh vegetables as you describe in the recipe. The difference in taste was quite noticeable. The first batch tasted slightly “off”—a bit too strongly like old vegetables, especially celery—and had a dark, almost greenish-brown color. The second batch had a much cleaner flavor and a nice golden-brown color, like normal chicken stock. So, as thrifty as it feels to make stock just from vegetable scraps and chicken bones, I think I’ll be using fresh ingredients from here on out. :) But the IP is such a great tool for this—it takes much less time than a slow cooker or a pot on the stove! Looking forward to making chicken soup with my delicious stock!
So following the recipe to a T, but I’m about half way through the 30 minute countdown and there is a lot of steam escaping from the pressure value- is this unusual?? Did I miss something- the smell is divine😉
Yes, there shouldn’t be steam escaping while it’s pressure cooking. Usually the counter won’t start counting down until the pressure comes up to the appropriate level, which can’t happen while steam is still escaping, so I’m not sure what’s going on there. :(
Maybe you have it on vent, little lever at top, should be on seal
I’ve since found that sometimes even when you have it on “seal” the little floating button can get stuck so that it keeps venting and will never get up to pressure. :(
This is the best broth recipe that I’ve used, thanks very much!
All I have are raw chicken carcasses, as we get about 10-15 free range cut up and frozen. Should I just cook it longer?
I don’t think you’ll necessarily need to cook it longer. The flavor will just be different because roasted bones produce a different flavor than raw.
Do you thaw your chicken carcass before cooking in the instant pot?
You don’t have to, the IP heats up very quickly and can get the carcass thawed and up to temp within a safe amount of time.
I’ve made this chicken stock several times and it is soooo delicious! I have also shared the recipe with my kids and sister in law. Thank you so much for sharing it on your website
I feel the need to comment this on every recipe I try, but I have yet to try something from your site I haven’t loved. Easy, tasty, wallet friendly and for the most part, picky husband approved!
We buy bulk frozen chickens from a local farmer and I usually stuff them with onions, carrots, and celery and put butter, garlic and herbs under the skin and roast them. We save the skin, veggies and carcass and use all that when I make this broth! I add an extra fresh carrot and celery stalk, and some more garlic because my IP is an 8 quart model. I usually don’t bother measuring my water, I just fill to about 1/2” below the 2/3 line on my IP.
Mine came out pretty watery and bland.. wonder what i did wrong.
I’ve followed this recipe a couple of times and it’s just the best I’ve ever made. The chicken carcasses I use, are from when my husband “smokes” organic chickens and you can taste that “smoked” flavor in the broth. So tasty on a cold day or when you are getting the sniffles.
About how much stock does this recipe yield?
About 8 cups.
What do you do with chicken from broth?
This uses just the carcass, or what is leftover after the meat has been used or eaten.
Best chicken stock ever! Since I had the time, I cooked it twice. Adding the salt was key. This is definitely the way to make stock.
This came out very bland for me. What can I do to make it richer?
You can let it cook longer, the longer it goes the more it will extract. :)
I learned about the health benefits of “Bone Broth” recently. I am not much of a cook, but I wanted to confirm…this is a bone broth, right??
They were talking about drinking a cup daily like you would coffee. I’m not a big coffee drinker and broth is delicious, so I though I might try to make my own and get in the habit of drinking it with some regularity.
Yes, but it’s a light one. Most “bone broths” that people talk about are cooked even longer. I’ve seen people do a couple of hours in the Instant Pot, so if you want something super thick and rich, you can cook it longer. :)