Before I started canning, I would make sure to have some homemade chicken or beef stock in the freezer to have on hand. I use it in just about everything in place of water to add depth and flavor. With the convenience of a large slow cooker, it's easy to make a rich and hearty stock.
Not only is it tasty, but it has many health benefits as well! You can read all about the benefits here.
Until I watched YouTube, I thought I was the only one that kept a bag of vegetable scraps in the freezer. When the bag is full, I'd make a batch of stock. Once empty, I just throw it back into the freezer again and reuse it. I use scraps like onion ends and peels, celery, and carrots the most, but really whatever you have on hand will work.
When I make my chicken stock, I like to use bone-in, skin-on, chicken thighs, and legs. When the stock is done, I remove all the meat from the slow cooker and use it in a recipe like Chicken and Dumplings, or my Chicken & Parmesan Risotto Bake. I will even freeze any leftover shredded chicken for future quick meal prep.
I followed the Ball Chicken Stock recipe pretty closely with the addition of extra vegetables and garlic. You can find the recipe here.
And the Ball canning cookbook I have here.
Yield: Makes about 8 (16 oz) pints or 4 (32 oz) quarts
Ingredients
5 pounds bone-in, skin-on, chicken leg quarters, or a mix of legs and thighs
5 quarts of water, more as needed
1 pound of vegetable scraps
4 cloves garlic, whole
2 bay leaves
10 black peppercorns
Directions
In a 6-quart or larger slow cooker, add all ingredients and cook on LOW heat for approximately 8 hours. Remove meat from chicken and reserve for later use.
Place bones back into the slow cooker and cook for an additional 10-12 hours on LOW setting. Using a fine mesh strainer, remove all vegetables, meat, and bones from the liquid. Allow to cool and store in the refrigerator at least overnight, to allow fat to solidify and rise to the top.
Using a spoon, remove the solidified fat and discard. Use a fine mesh strainer to remove any
remaining small bits. Pour liquid into a large stockpot and heat thoroughly.
Prepare pressure canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set bands aside.
Ladle the hot chicken stock into hot jars leaving 1-inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
Process filled jars in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 20 minutes for pints or 25 minutes for quarts, adjusting for altitude, according to your pressure canner's directions.
Turn off heat: cool the canner to zero pressure, then let stand for 5 more minutes before removing the lid. Cool jars in the canner for 10 minutes.
Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Remove bands. Lids should not flex up and down when the center is pressed.
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