Originally published on August 28, 2010
Often, when I see chef’s on TV saying, “Oh, just make homemade chicken broth; it’s so easy”, I think, do they have soccer games, birthday parties, and laundry to do? But every once in a while, like after I have a rotisserie chicken, I will make my own broth. When it’s all done, I realize it is worth it once in a while for two reasons: flavor and cost.
The flavor of freshly made chicken broth really can’t compare to anything in a carton. It can be used to make chicken or bean soup, risotto, quinoa, rice, or gravy. As I type, the house has a delicious smell of chicken wafting through it.
The other big advantage of homemade broth is that it’s so economical. Earlier in the week, I brought home an all-natural, no antibiotics rotisserie chicken. After 20 minutes of cooling, I removed all of the meat. I used the breast for 4 sandwiches over the next two days and the rest of the meat for a delicious chicken stew. I had leftover meat that we nibbled on the day after. I saved the carcass and bones to make the broth later (I often put them in the freezer and make the broth another time. The veggies were cheap and I really look at the bones as being almost free since often they are thrown out anyway.
If you are looking to save some money or get a terrific broth, do like our moms did and make your own once in a while. You’ll be glad you did.
Homemade Chicken Broth
Yield 3 quarts
- 1 chicken carcass (or bones from breast, leg, and thigh)
- 2 to 3 teaspoons sea salt
- 6-8 peppercorns (if you use ground pepper, use 1/4 teaspoon but your broth will have specks)
- 2 carrots, washed and chopped into 3 – 4 pieces
- 2 celery ribs, chopped into 3 – 4 pieces
- 1/2 medium onion, cut into 3 – 4 chunks
- 1 – 2 bay leaves for flavor (use 2 if smaller)
- Water to just cover carcass (I used about 12 cups)
- Place all ingredients in a large stock pot on the stove.
- Heat to medium and bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer.
- Cover and cook about 2 hours.
- Remove lid and cool about 1 hour. Pour broth through strainer and place in glass jars or glass containers. Place in the fridge. Keeps about 1 week. Can be frozen.
To make in a slow cooker, place all ingredients in the slow cooker bowl and cook for 4 hours on high or 8-12 hours on low. Follow from step 4 above.
To make in an electric pressure cooker, place all ingredients in the pressure cooker bowl except water. add enough water to about 2 cups less than the maximum. Close pressure cooker and set to high pressure for 45 minutes, natural pressure release. Follow from step 4 above.
Homemade Bone Broth
To make your chicken broth just a little more healthy by extracting the amazing nutrients from the bones, add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the pot and cook 8-10 hours. You can also make this in a slow cooker by cooking for 12 hours on low. You can also add beef or pork bones to this broth. If you use more bones, your broth will be more gelatinous. Or use this recipe.
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