Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Chicken Broth from Scratch

Hey, you! Yeah, you with the supposed kitchen handicap. Please don't discount this recipe because you aren't very experienced in the kitchen. All you really need is a crock pot and some time. No special skills required, I promise. Once you make this and realize how easy, tasty, healthy, and cheap this is, you'll never go back to stock-in-a-box or whatever you've been using.

I'll admit to having bullion cubes in my pantry, but I haven't resorted to using them since I discovered this technique. It's really more a technique than a recipe.

There's probably a million different ways you can use this. I keep jars of it in the fridge to sip (usually warming it up and sipping from a thermos), freeze in an ice cube tray to add to recipes and adding to soups (check back tomorrow to see how I used this batch).

This is great to keep on hand and warm up when you're feeling sick because it's loaded with minerals and collagen that helps heal that gut. My 1 1/2-year-old loves it!

Although I'll give you specific amounts below, if you don't have an ingredient, skip it (unless it's the chicken...) or adjust amounts based on your taste.

Whenever I buy a whole chicken, I use it 3 different times. First for roasting, second for chicken salad, and third for broth!


Easy Chicken Broth
Serves about as much as you want...depends on the size of your crock pot, but use the biggest one you have

Chicken carcass or variety of chicken bones, preferably free-range or organic, with meat and skin removed (doesn't need to be perfect)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the flat side of a large knife
2 carrots, broken into 2-3 pieces
1 yellow or white onion, peeled and cut into quarters
1 stalk celery, broken into 2-3 pieces
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (I like Bragg's)

After pulling most of the meat from the bones, add them to your crock pot with your vegetables and apple cider vinegar. Fill nearly to the top with water, cover, and cook on low for 8-24 hours. Ladle out the liquid and pour it through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth to remove the sediment. Toss the bones and vegetables.

You can use immediately, store in jars in the refrigerator, or freeze in smaller portions for later use in airtight containers.

Told you it would be easy! 

Pinit

6 comments:

  1. Good idea on the warming up and sipping on a cold day. Maybe Mudge would like this. We made the spagetti squash, everybody was suspicious but ate it and liked it!tmj

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nothing like a healthy dose of suspicion! I'm glad they liked it.

      Delete
  • sally @ sallys baking addictionOct 10, 2012, 2:29:00 PM

    Loretta, as I'm fighting a stomach flu... pure chicken broth is really all i'm wantign right now! I made some of the canned stuff and didn't eat any of the noodles. Your timing could not be more perfect posting this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess it's just that time of year...Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete

I love to hear from you!