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How to make Instant Pot Chicken Stock

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 large or 2 small chicken carcasses
  • 1 onion, cleaned of dirt and cut in half if large
  • 1-2 carrots, cleaned of dirt and cut in half if large
  • 2 sticks of celery, cleaned of dirt and cut in half if large
  • a good grinding of black pepper or 1/2 tablespoon peppercorns
  • enough water to cover the contents of the pot

Instructions

  1. Add the chicken carcasses and vegtables to the pot and a good grinding of black pepper (or 1/2 tablespoon whole peppercorns, if you have them). You can really pack them in but be sure to stay below the maximum fill mark.
  2. Pour cold water over the contents of the pot so that you are just covering the chicken and vegetables (again being careful that you don't exceed the maximum fill mark). The less water you add, the more flavour and body your stock will have.
  3. Lock the lid in place, make sure the steam release valve is set to SEALING. On my model there is a SOUP/BROTH button which automatically sets the pot to 30 minutes on High Pressure, but you can also use the MANUAL mode (older models) or just set the time and pressure yourself manually.
  4. It will take about 15 minutes for the pot to reach pressure (longer if your bones are frozen) and once ready, the display will start to count down the 30 minutes cooking time.
  5. When the 30 minutes is up, the pot will switch to 'keep warm' mode. Now press CANCEL and allow the pressure in the pot to reduce naturally - when the silver float valve on the lid has dropped you are safe to carefully open the lid.
  6. I like to leave my stock to cool with the carcass and vegetables still in it (all in the name of maximum flavour capture!) and then drain the cooled stock through a colander or sieve.
  7. I leave my stock in a covered bowl in the fridge and then scrape off any solid fat on the surface in the morning.

Notes

If you have them to hand you can also add the stalks of herbs (parsley is particularly good) or some garlic cloves. And of course, there are no rules to say that you have to add any vegetables at all - chicken bones + water is also perfect!