Homemade Stock Recipes

"We use a lot of chicken stock in my house," says chef Hugh Acheson. "It is a beautiful thing when created from scratch, and who knew it would be so easy? Throw all of the ingredients in and walk away. It's a culinary mic drop."

This stock is perfect for making sauces, gravies, braises and soups. "If you use enough bones, it will be a little thick when cold, which means you have a good stock," says André Soltner.

This chicken stock is terrific to use in soups, stews, dressings and stuffings, but it's so flavorful that it can even be sipped.

"If you're making stock, why not try to add as much flavor as possible?" asks Momofuku chef David Chang. "You can produce a very rich broth with freeze-dried chicken and mushrooms. It's like making your own bouillon cube."

No matter how ample the drippings, you never have enough to make as much gravy as you need—at least 1/3 cup of gravy per person, as far as F&W's Tina Ujlaki is concerned. You can prepare stock weeks before Thanksgiving so you have it on hand not only for making gravy, but also for thinning soups, braising vegetables and moistening stuffings.