I find less change with vegetable than I do with beef, chicken, or fish. I do tend to reduce them a bit after thawing. However, increasingly I make stock in batches small enough to use it all without freezing.
Favorite soups using chicken broth
White bean chicken chili
Quick Turkey or Chicken Noodle Soup
Ginger meatballs (pork or turkey) in coconut broth
Easy tortellini vegetable soup - below
Easy Tortellini Soup
4 cups chicken broth OR 4 C. ham broth
8 oz frozen mixed vegetables
8 – 16 oz frozen tortellini
1 – 3 teaspoons Italian Seasoning OR 1 tsp. oregano
1 tall can diced tomatoes (optional)
1 tall can Butter Beans / Great Northen Beans (optional)
grated parmesan cheese
Shredded cooked chicken OR diced ham
Heat broth & mixed vegetables to full boil. Add Italian Seasoning and tortellini. Heat to boiling again and cook about 5 minute (until tortellini are done, floating). Optional – add meat or tomatoes, beans and heat through. Serve, sprinkle each bowl with shredded parmesan cheese.
Other recipes
The Cheesy Grits portion of this Budget Bytes BBQ Meatballs and Cheesy Grits while terrific with those meatballs is also delicious under / beside shrimp or pulled pork.
Cook rice in broth for fried rice side, or rice/pasta for rice pilaf
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This isn’t a facetious answer. I think one of the best uses of chicken stock is… to make chicken stock. That is, to fortify, to double and triple it. As long as it’s the clarity you want, and not too salty, there is no practical limit, and you’ll be amazed.
The secondary advice is to use it FRESH. While I sympathize with the urge to preserve, IME preserved stock under the best of circumstances is a lot like reheating leftovers. It’s not like fresh chicken is only available certain months or in certain places, like lamb.
What you can’t use fresh, use to cook pasta, potatoes, root vegetables. Use it up and make more. If you have the time and right setup, keep a small pot on continuous simmer on a back burner.
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I’m on that page too. I have a small freezer, so room for 1 litre at a time amongst all the other stuff in there 
I recently read an article about how if you reheat the stock every few days it will keep “forever-ish”… My French husband has been telling me that for years, I didn’t believe him. So now, if I think its starting to get a bit too long in the fridge, I just boil it. Anyone else play around with this ?
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I freeze the extra in 1/2 or 1/4 litre containers and I use it for soups/instant ramen/pork/chicken stew with orzo or potatoes/ chicken and rice.
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I’ve asked about it before and got some responses, maybe here. Between those and internet searches, I do it sometimes, but try not to rely on it.
I try to reduce it as much as seems reasonable on a given day, then freeze in ice cube trays within a few days.
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When I had a wood cookstove that was fired around the clock, I sometimes ran a “continuous” stockpot. If chicken is a common protein source for someone, it’s pretty easy to do with the meat, bones and vegetable scraps. You end up actually eating fewer leftovers and tossing less waste.
For most home cooks, the practical hurdle to this is–strangely–pot size and shape. They think stock must be made in larger vessels and batches, and so don’t make it in smaller volumes as they go about other things. Hence the need to preserve it.
I found this little 3Q gem to fill that need: https://house-copper-cookware.myshopify.com/products/3-quart-copper-pot And I now see there is an even smaller 2Q version. Such a $$$ copper pot isn’t necessary, although it helps.
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That copper pot is a work of art.
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Yeah, and it works better than it looks.
But something like the Demeyere asparagus pot works very well for small batch stocks, too.
When I actually had room to store it, I super-reduced it first - to a concentration where one cube from an ice cube tray would equal a cup. Froze the cubes in the tray, then stored them in a freezer bag. I used them for … almost anything. Even to treat myself to a nice mug of broth.
Yes. This works.
Thank you @mig !
This is from the last time I asked.
ETA I realize now that the link I included was about the fat at the top, and not about reboiling.
Here’s a gift link from the NYT I found today, but it is Harold McGee in 2011, and seems to be about leaving it on the stove, and not in the refrigerator.
This led me to reddit ( 
) , and the term “master stock” and wah-lah!
One more “reference”
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You only basically have to reheat to 150F or above to kill any active bacteria, not necessarily boil. And any “survivalist bacteria” spores don’t germinate above 130F. Even then, a few hours at lower temperatures isn’t particularly dangerous.
Those who worry should relax and reboil before serving, to neutralize the theoretical toxins.
Thank you! I was not thinking of bacteria, but rather the toxins they can produce. I wouldnt use the word "worry "; more like wondering, since I hadn’t read that they were neutralized with heat. Perhaps the most likely culprits might be. Is there a length of time at 150, or does just reaching 150 work?
Also, safety aside, it tastes good indefinitely ? Better than freezing? You had mentioned it’s best to use it fresh.
Haven’t seen anyone mention the pressure cooker method of making chicken stock, so I’ll ask if anyone has opinions.
I’m talking about 1.5 pounds of chicken leg parts, an onion, leeks if you have them, celery, parsley, carrot, 1 tsp sugar, a small amount of salt, 20 peppercorns, a little thyme if you like, water to cover - maybe 2 quarts - pressure cook for 30-45 minutes and let pressure come down on its own. Have had great results with this, personally.
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I only ever use a pressure cooker for stock.
I think method didn’t come up here bec the OP was about using up stock (making it is covered on older threads).
All of mine is made in the pressure cooker now (last 10 years I think).
On the stove top, i was forever not being attentive enough and letting it hit a hard boil, ending up with cloudy emulsified stuff that I’d then have to clarify with an egg raft.
Pressure cooker saved me, because it can’t boil (well it can if you bow off pressure immediately).
The only difference for me is that i like to get more from the bones. So I’ll start with 30 minutes, then remove the veggies (they can get bitter if they go to long), then meat/bones back on pressure another 4 to 6 hours (chicken vs heavy beef or other heavy bones).
Yeah, at least 1 minute. I go round and round with Wahine over making Hummingbird nectar. She’s adamant that it be boiled for 10 minutes. If I get it to a simmer for a couple minutes, I’m good. I’ve never noticed my version starting to ferment before hers does.
Despite the folklore, I don’t think it tastes better than fresh and freshly made. If you just reheat repeatedly, it will go “off” by turning somewhat sour. IME there’s a point in time where it will taste worse than frozen or canned, but that’s an individual taste. Up to that point, I sort of enjoy whatever subtle piquancy develops.
That being said, IME it’d be a mistake to focus on how old a continuous stock is. The idea is to use most of what you made immediately, and then feed and top it up (or discard played-out bones) as you go. Analogies would be to bread yeast starters, vinegar mothers and “bottomless” cheese crocks.
My absolute favourite way to make stock is in my Solar Oven. Just leave in there all day and keep the temperature low-ish. If you have a bit of sunny outdoor space, I recommend building or buying one. I save a fortune on energy…
Without sun, I always use a pressure cooker. I like to make a version of “chinese white chicken” so you get the poached chicken AND a very flavourful stock as everything was in there … I had a tecnique where you cover the whole chicken with water, bring up to pressure and when its up to pressure you actually take of the heat and leave it for a certain amount of time (depending on weight) before opening. I find it amazing that a whole chicken will cook in such a short amount of active time.
