Overnight Chicken Stock in the Crock Pot

I’ve blogged about this overnight chicken stock recipe before, but to be honest, it’s kind of buried in the opening paragraph of another recipe and is basically hard to find.

And now that I realize how incredibly popular this slow-cooker “overnight chicken stock” recipe is, I decided it all deserves its own page!

If you don’t have a slow cooker yet, I love it and I’d like to give you plenty of reasons to buy one (we use this basic, cheap slow cooker), frequently used in everything from flank steak fajitas to refried beans.

Make a simple chicken stock overnight in a cooking pot.

But one of the best cooking pot discoveries (thanks to a friend!) is definitely the chicken stock recipe below. Use leftover chicken bones from dinner to cook while you sleep.I highly recommend using leftovers from the “Best Whole Chicken in the Crockpot” recipe, but any chicken bone will do. The results will surprise you.

Get ready to say goodbye to storing purchased chicken broth forever!

Can I make slow cooker stock with beef, turkey, or vegetables?

absolutely! Besides chicken, you can make overnight stock in a crockpot with leftover meat. Here are some tips for making a variety of homemade stocks.

turkey stock

Turkey carcasses are usually much larger than chicken, so they need more spices. The amount depends on the size of the bird making the stock. Don’t forget to include the neck and wing tips. These are perfect for turkey stock!

If you can’t fit the whole turkey in the cooking pot, choose the neck, wings and legs first.

beef stock

Beef stock is a little tricky because you can’t just use leftover bones. There are also shops selling beef bone soup packs that are perfect for taking. Otherwise, choose a back and neck piece around 5 pounds.

Beef bones should be pre-cooked in the oven before making the stock.

vegetable stock

Cut out the meat and double the amount of vegetables. The chicken seasoning helps season this homemade stock, so if the overnight vegetable stock is bland, you may want to add more spices.

Can I use this technique to make overnight bone broth in my slow cooker?

Let me tell you a little secret. Bone broth is basically the same as this stock recipe. Slow cooking of chicken bones at low temperatures releases nutrients (mainly collagen) from the bones. This is the same process used to make both flavorful stock and bone broth.

The main difference is the cooking time. The soup can be prepared in slow cooking for 8-10 hours, but most people prefer to simmer the bone broth for up to 24 hours.

How to Fix Oily Overnight Chicken Stock or Bone Broth

Part of the stock or broth cooking process involves breaking down and releasing the fat from the chicken bones. That’s what I mean.

If it bothers you, remove the fat that collects on top of the homemade soup. To do this, use a spoon to scoop out as much fat as possible and discard. If this is difficult, strain the stock first and then refrigerate. A lower temperature separates the liquid from the fat, making it easier to remove.

Why is my Overnight Crock Pot Chicken Stock cloudy?

Boiling is the main reason chicken stock becomes cloudy. This is usually not a problem with the Crock Pot as it maintains constant heat, but it can happen. Possible explanations are:

• High temperature cooking instead of low temperature cooking. The high settings on most slow cookers can cause the liquid to boil, especially if left for several hours. Cook at a lower temperature instead.
• The crockpot is too big. The cooking pot heats the bottom and sides of the insert. If the crockpot is too large for the food inside, it creates too much cooking surface and can overheat. Use a smaller cooking pot or double the recipe.
• Overheating the slow cooker. of Average time it takes food to boil in a slow cooker 7-8 hours at low speed. A gentle simmer is fine, but too hard will result in a cloudy stock.

The new slow cooker actually cooks at a higher temperature than the old one, so if you recently upgraded, you may need to reduce the cooking time when making overnight chicken stock.