Instant Pot Chicken Stock

Take advantage of the high-pressure cooking capabilities of the instant pot, and reduce the usual 4 - 6 hour cooking time needed to make chicken stock and broth at home to a measly 2 hours. This Instant Pot Chicken Stock recipe includes the heat up and natural cool down times most Instant Pot recipes do not account for!

Homemade chicken stock is a wonderful thing. Rich, gelatinous, and absolutely nothing like the thin salty 'broth' that can be purchased at grocery stores. Unfortunately, making chicken stock at home the old fashioned way takes a LONG time. As in 4 to 6 hours of simmering on the stove. That's a long time, and unless you have a propane or wood fired stove, also sucks an incredible amount of electricity. That's why I was so excited when I realized I could make chicken stock and broth in my Instant Pot! What got me so excited about this Instant Pot chicken stock recipe was the extreme time savings, (and power savings) making stock in this way allowed.

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What's The Difference Between Stock, Broth, and Bone Broth?

In the world of stocks and broth, both of these terms are often thrown around interchangeably. Did you know that there are technically some minor differences between all three varieties?

• Stock - Stock, regardless if it is chicken, beef, fish, or any other animal based stock, is generally made with only the bones and connective tissues of the respective animal. Some flavorings may be used such as onions and celery, as well as bay leaf, and peppercorn, Stocks are usually simmered at a very low temperature for extended periods of time, (anywhere from 45 minutes for fish stock to 8 hours for beef stock) to extract nutrients from the bone.
• Broth - Broths are made very similar to stocks, but can contain more complex flavoring ingredients such as garlic, spices, and herbs. The big difference between stock and broth is that broths are made with bones and meat.
• Bone Broth - Bone broth on the other hand is traditionally made with just bones, and has no flavorings added. This broth is then simmered for up to 24 hours to fully break down the bones and extract every possible nutrient.

Making Your Own Instant Pot Chicken Stock

Just like when making chicken stock or broth on the stove, cooking chicken stock in the instant pot is a great way to use up leftover chicken bones and veggie scraps. Items you would usually throw out, can all of a sudden be used to create a useful and nutritious liquid. Chicken stock and broth are great for use in soups, sauces, and any savory recipe that requires water (or liquid of any kind). You can even just drink the stock as a cold and flu remedy. I always make sure to have some in the freezer, and this instant pot chicken stock recipe just makes that so much easier!

You'll need:

• Instant Pot
• 1 Chicken carcass or 5 to 6 lbs of random chicken bones
• 2 tablespoon oil or clarified butter
• 1 large carrot
• 1 spanish onion
• 1 stalk celery
• 3 cloves garlic - crushed
• 4-6 whole pepper corns
• 5 liters water (when using an IP-LUX80  8 quart Instant Pot)

Note: This recipe calls for 5 liters of water. When making stock in the Instant Pot do not exceed the Max Pressure Cooker Fill Line or ⅔'s full. In the 8 quart model I have, this lets me add 5 liters of liquid. Simply use as much water as is appropriate for your model size.

Did you know small batches of Homemade Beef Stock can be made using this same method!? - Chef Markus

Start by turning the Instant Pot to 'Sear' and let it heat up fully. Add the oil to the pot and then add the chicken carcass/bones, and sear them for 5 minutes on each side. You want to get a good amount of brown caramelization to the raw chicken. This will help develop a richer flavor and deeper golden color. Don't worry about it sticking to the bottom of the pot when flipping! As the bones brown, rough chop the vegetables.

While the recipe calls for classic stock flavorings, you can use any vegetable trim you like. Mushroom stems, tomato ends, and asparagus stems, can all easily be used!

Toss the remaining crushed garlic cloves and black peppercorns into the pot. You can saute the vegetables for a minute if you like, though it is not required for this stock recipe. You will get a great tasting chicken stock either way.

Next turn 'off' the instant pot, and add the water. Remember if using the 8 quart model this is about 5 liters before you reach the ' ⅔ Pressure Cooking Max Fill Line'. In smaller models, you will need to use less liquid. The only way this will effect the stock is that it will be just that much richer, and you simply have less stock at the end.

Securely latch the lid and set the steam release valve to 'sealed' Select 'Manual' by pressing the button once, and then adjusting the cooking time with the + and - symbols. The picture shows 35 minutes as this is the last setting I used on my Instant Pot. Set the time to 60 minutes.  Once the time has been adjusted, press 'Manual' again to set the time and start the cooking process.

The Instant Pot will take about 10 to 15 minutes to heat up and reach full pressure. As the Pot heats and pressurizes, the small pressure indicator on top of the lid will slowly rise. Once fully raised and sealed the Instant Pot screen will display the selected cooking time and start counting down.

After the 60 minutes of pressure cooking the chicken stock, the Instant Pot will beep letting you know the cooking has finished.

It is important to NOT use the 'quick release function' on the steam valve to rapidly de-pressurize the pot.

As the pot is full of hot pressurized liquid, this liquid would simply shoot out through the vent, spraying all over your kitchen and yourself causing burns, and a giant mess. Instead, let the pot naturally de-pressurize by unplugging it and letting it cool down. This should take about 15 minutes. Only once the little red pressure indicator on the lid has fully lowered is it safe to turn the steam valve to "venting". Use a dry cloth when turning the valve to further reduce the chance of burning yourself with hot steam.

Remove the lid and behold. CRYSTAL CLEAR Instant Pot chicken stock with very little effort!!

At this point, ladle or scoop out the homemade chicken stock and pour it through a strainer into clean containers to further cool in the fridge. Straining helps remove any small floating bits! I personally like to use mason jars, as they are compact, and easily storeable in the fridge, and you can process them in a water bath to can the stock and safely store it in a cool pantry!

Canned jars of chicken stock or broth will easily last for up to 3 months if properly processed, while simply cooling the jars and refrigerating the stock will give you a shelf life of about 1 week. To make the stock last even longer freeze it in freezer-proof containers, (not mason jars!) or bags! Ice cube trays are great for this as you can freeze the stock in cubes and then bag the frozen cubes for later use.

This same method can be used to make beef stock from scratch as well!

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Recipe

This post contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated if a purchase is made through the links provided. For more information please read my affiliate disclosure.