Get restaurant-ready flavors right on your stovetop.

Whether you’ve lovingly roasted a whole chicken from scratch or picked up a rotisserie for a quick weeknight meal, you’ve likely thrown away your share of discarded chicken bones. But since many of us are looking for ways to thriftily budget around food costs, it may be time to put those leftovers to use. The best way to do so? Making your own homemade chicken stock to use for soups, stews, gravies, and whatever else you can imagine.

If you want to start but need a quality, dependable tutorial to guide you on your journey, look no further than this easy recipe from Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook, chefs and founders of the restaurant Zahav. They’ve penned the cookbook Zahav Home, which focuses on bringing the pro-level flavors into your own kitchen.

“We like the no-waste vibe of repurposing chicken backbones into golden chicken stock on the stovetop,” they write. And if you’re not sure how to use all that golden goodness right away, don’t fret: This enticing elixir freezes beautifully.

Zahav’s Stovetop Chicken Stock

Makes about 3 quarts

Ingredients

3 chicken backbones
1 large onion, cut into wedges, plus the skins
1 celery rib, cut into thirds
1 carrot, cut into thirds or quarters
1 garlic head, skin on, cut in half through the root
1 handful parsley stems
Pinch turmeric
A few pinches salt

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in a large pot.
Add enough water to cover, plus an inch, about 12 cups.
Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 2 hours. Cool, strain, and discard the solids, then store the stock in the refrigerator or freezer.