Rich Rotisserie Chicken Stock (Pressure Cooker)
By Chef Jon Ashton | Published November 8, 2026
Why this recipe works: a roasted bird for a head start · meat and bones for flavor and body · golden onion and carrot · no added salt · 45 minutes under pressure.
Some days I make chicken stock from scratch, simmering bones with onion, carrot, celery and herbs until the whole kitchen smells inviting. Other days I want rich, golden stock without spending the afternoon at the stove, and this is how I get it.
It starts with a supermarket rotisserie chicken, already roasted, so you have a head start on flavor, and a pressure cooker does the heavy lifting. I use the meat as well as the bones: the bones give gelatin and body, the meat gives a deeper chicken flavor. If it sets into a soft jelly in the fridge, don't be alarmed. That's the gelatin, and a lovely sign you've made stock with real body.
Rich Rotisserie Chicken Stock
Makes about 5 to 7 cups (1.2 to 1.7 liters)
Prep: 15 minutes
Pressure cook: 45 minutes, plus time to come up to pressure and release naturally
Total: about 1½ hours, plus cooling
Equipment: pressure cooker, fine-mesh sieve, heatproof container
Ingredients
1 supermarket rotisserie chicken, meat and bones
About ½ yellow onion (150 g), thinly sliced
About ½ carrot (75 g), thinly sliced
1 small celery stalk, thinly sliced
½ small leek, white and pale green parts, well washed and sliced
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
4 to 6 flat-leaf parsley stalks
1 small bay leaf
6 whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon chicken fat or neutral oil
6 to 8 cups (1.5 to 2 liters) cold water, depending on your cooker
Instructions
Prepare the Chicken: Pull the meat from the chicken and separate it from the bones and cartilage. Shred the meat finely, or pulse it briefly in a food processor. Keep both.
Brown the Vegetables: Set an electric pressure cooker to sauté, or heat a stovetop pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add the fat or oil, then the onion and carrot. Leave them for a few minutes, stirring only now and then, until the edges turn golden brown. Add the celery and leek and cook for 2 minutes, then add the garlic for the last 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
Add Everything Else: Add the meat and bones, then the thyme, parsley stalks, bay leaf and peppercorns. Pour in the cold water to cover most of the ingredients, never above the cooker's maximum fill line. Stir to lift the browned bits from the bottom.
Pressure Cook: Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 45 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. Rushing it makes the stock bubble hard and turn cloudy.
Strain: Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof container. Don't press hard on the solids if you want the stock clear.
Cool and Store: Cool it quickly in an ice bath or shallow containers, then refrigerate within 2 hours. Lift off the set fat if you like.
A note on salt: Don't add any. Rotisserie chickens are already seasoned, and many are brined or injected with salty water, so this stock can come out salty all on its own. Taste it before you reduce it, and season the dish you use it in, not the stock.
Pressure cooker safety: Never fill past the maximum line, always meet your cooker's minimum liquid, and let the pressure release fully before you open the lid. Follow your cooker's instructions.
Want it lighter? Save the meat for sandwiches and use just the carcass. The stock will be lighter in flavor but still full of body.
How to Store
Fridge: Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking and use within 3 to 4 days.
Freezer: Freeze in small portions for 2 to 3 months. One- or two-cup containers are handy for soups, and ice cube trays are perfect for pan sauces. Label everything with what it is and the date.
Before using: Bring stored stock to a boil before you use it.
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