Instant Pot Whole Chicken Stock

"Chicken stock with a whole chicken, shock horror!", I can hear the purists scream from here!

Well, yes. When you're a working parent trying to keep your head above water you do not mind this type of thing that much and the stock is super tasty so, if I'm going to keep my head above water, it might as well be delicious chicken stock (or broth as some like to call it), in my Instant Pot of course!

Plus, this is how I grew up seeing it made. Yep.

Wondering how to pressure cook chicken stock with just bones?

For example from a roast chicken you may have had on Sunday? Then just cook it exactly as per this recipe. Remembering less water, more bones and more time will give you a more gelatinous stock. My advice is that you freeze those bones and wait until you have the bones/carcass from at least two chickens, you will get more flavour that way and you can pressure cook the stock with the bones from frozen, no need to defrost.

I tend to pressure cook a whole chicken this way at the start of every week. Why? Apart from the fact that it's super easy...

- Chicken and mash with steamed vegetables one day. Instant Pot mash: 250 ml water (or your freshly-made chicken stock), quartered potatoes straight in the liquid or in a steamer basket (or on the trivet supplied with your Instant Pot), press Manual, programme 10 minutes with the - and + buttons, natural release

- Instant Pot Chicken, Leek and Carrot Soup (particularly delicious with chorizo)

- Chicken and Pasta Soup another day, using both the chicken stock and the meat. A bit like this Instant Pot Pasta Soup recipe replacing the ham stock with your freshly-made chicken stock and adding some of the chicken meat. You can of course add chorizo!

- Chicken Noodle Soup, similar to the above recipe but just add noodles, I'd use the sauté function at the end for the noodles so that they don't overcook, just add whatever ingredients you fancy

- Instant Pot Soup with Greens, Beans, Potatoes and Chorizo (a bit like Spanish Caldo), using both the chicken stock and some of the meat. Recipe coming up!

- Risotto, like my delicious pressure cooked Chorizo Risotto. If you are using your Thermomix (you could use it in my Chorizo and Red Pepper Risotto). Or any of my pressure cooked Rice Dishes.

- Instant Pot one-pot pasta, omit the sausages in my All-in-One Instant Pot Sausage and Tomato Pasta and add the chicken to warm up at the end

- Thermomix one-pot pasta, you could add the chicken to warm up at the end of my Thermomix Creamy Chorizo Pasta, turning it into Creamy Chicken and Chorizo Pasta (yes, I've totally adapted this to the Instant Pot, recipe coming soon, as soon as I find my scribbles in fact!)

- You know your family's taste better than everyone, you could invent meals to suit them, the possibilities are endless. How about an easy Chicken Pie with filo pastry?

- Plus, you don't have to use it all up, you can freeze both the stock and the chicken for future meals from frozen, if you have already joined me on my Pressure Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas Facebook group, you will know already just how handy being able to reheat things from frozen in the Instant Pot. Frozen stock, frozen chicken pieces, frozen chickpeas and you have a full meal in no time! If you haven't seen my method to reheat things from frozen, make sure you read this post.

What else would YOU add to this list?

Fancy making your own Vegetable Stock Paste? It's super easy, try my recipe.

Ready for the recipe?

Instant Pot Whole Chicken Stock 

Ingredients

- 1 whole free range chicken (the ones I use range, maximum 2.5 kg if you have the 6 litres Instant Pot), string removed

- 1 carrot

- 1 onion, halved

- 5 unpeeled garlic cloves whacked with the hand

- 1 tablespoon fresh grated turmeric / or dry turmeric

- 1 teaspoon sea salt

- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

- 5-6 peppercorns

- 2 bay leaves

- 1 litre cold water

Method

1. Place all the ingredients in the Instant Pot.

2. Cover with water, remember to never fill your Instant Pot over two thirds of capacity when pressure cooking. Less water and more time will give you a more gelatinous/concentrated stock. Because of how I use it throughout the week, I do not mind this to be honest. Remember, we are aiming for staying afloat rather than perfection here.

3. Lock the lid in. Steam release handle pointing to Sealing. Press Manual and programme between 60 and 120 minutes with the - and + buttons (in the new v3 of the LUX 6 in 1 you can pressure cook up to 240 minutes). Let it do a natural release at the end (i.e. let the float valve pop back down of its own accord)

4.  Remove the chicken (carefully, it will fall apart), pick the meat out and place in a container or portion up for the freezer and, really important, strain and keep the stock!

Tip: After removing the meat from the bones, you can add the bones/carcass back to the Instant Pot and make a lighter stock again, I tend not to bother though (time being on the short side and all that). If you want to do this, some people like to roast the bones first to get extra flavour.

Pssst. Did you see the video at the top of this post? It's on my YouTube channel! I never thought I'd have a YouTube channel but lots of you my lovely readers have told me videos are helpful so there it is on my YouTube channel.

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