How do you make chicken broth?

[SansSouci]

I finally found one in the store that doesn't have MSG (nor hydrolized yuckiness). But... it would still be nice to make my own. I just have no clue how. Any tips?

(It's not just a chicken boiled in water, and then the water (when you pull out the chicken) is the broth. Right? B/c to me, that smells kinda yucky, and not like chicken broth. Surely there are seasonings???

[ViolaMum]

I use leftover chicken bones, sometimes from a roast chicken, sometimes uncooked. If I cut up a whole chicken myself, I put wings and backs in the freezer until I have enough for broth. Then I just boil the chicken parts with an onion (quartered), a couple carrots, a couple stalks of celery, a couple bay leaves, a few peppercorns. If I have it I may toss in some thyme sprigs or marjoram. I salt when it's done. I do this in my pasta pot so that I can just lift out the insert with all the bones and veggies when I'm done and the broth is already pretty much strained.

[Rabbit]

Right now, I throw an entire chicken in water, add celery, onions, carrots, salt and pepper, and boil until the marrow is seeping out of the bones. I strain the chicken and vegies out, and the liquid left is broth. I use the chicken in soups, sandwiches and salads, and the vegies in soup.

[CrunchySeaSalt]

Right now, I throw an entire chicken in water, add celery, onions, carrots, salt and pepper, and boil until the marrow is seeping out of the bones. I strain the chicken and vegies out, and the liquid left is broth. I use the chicken in soups, sandwiches and salads, and the vegies in soup.

Same here plus an extra spoonful of chicken base for richness. But you can omit the chicken base if you don't like what's in it.

However with the spices/veggies it smells heavenly while boiling. :yes

[jewelmcjem]

Right now, I throw an entire chicken in water, add celery, onions, carrots, salt and pepper, and boil until the marrow is seeping out of the bones. I strain the chicken and vegies out, and the liquid left is broth. I use the chicken in soups, sandwiches and salads, and the vegies in soup.

I also add poultry seasoning and a couple of cloves of garlic. After I strain the broth and freeze it, and pull all the meat off the bones that I can (leaving the back, wings, and neck -- I hate to bother with the meat on them), I throw the bones back into the pot with the veggies again, and fill it back up with water. Add a little more seasoning, maybe some more fresh onion for flavor, and 1tsp or so of apple cider vinegar to pull more gelatin out of the bones. I boil that all again for more broth.

[Johns_Gal]

Pretty much what they all do: whole chicken or pieces (I can get leg quarters super cheap sometimes), odds and ends of evggies (I try to keep a bag in the fridge of veggie bits for this purpose), bay leaves, salt, pepper, and boil. Once at a boil, I reduce it to kind of a slow bubble until chicken is cooked, then take the lid off and let it reduce a bit. Remove your chicken and veggies and you have broth.

I do often puree the overcooked veggies and add them back to the broth, though. And you can chill it to skim the fat off if you like.

[Proverbs31]

It's been much easier since I learned to do it in the crock pot. :)

I put in:
-several carrots, split lengthwise (if I skimp on carrots, the broth is not nearly as good)
-1 onion, quartered
-several garlic cloves, crushed
-1 chicken carcass (I usually cook the whole chicken in the crockpot, then after eating save the carcass in a ziploc bag in the freezer till I need more stock; I don't worry about getting every scrap of meat off because whatever bits don't come off easily will add to the stock, as does the skin/fat)
-fresh-ground black pepper
-thyme
-sometimes oregano
-salt
-a splash of vinegar

I use the garlic, thyme, and oregano because of their health benefits, and it also makes a fairly neutral broth that I can spice in different directions for different recipes. Adding fresh chopped ginger makes a tasty and healthy broth, but I don't do it for a whole batch of stock; instead I add it whenever I use the stock in cooking, like when making rice or dal for example.

Anyway, after putting that all in, I fill up the crockpot with water, start it on high, and once it's simmering, switch it to low and leave it in for a long while.

When I take out the carcass (it's falling apart by that point), I sometimes top off the crockpot with water again.

When I'm ready to take it out, I close the drain in the kitchen sink, dump some ice in the sink, and nest a large stainless steel bowl in there, setting a cheesecloth-lined strainer in it. I fish out any veggie chunks I can from the crockpot (they splash the steaming broth too much to pour safely if left in). I put ds in his high chair and make sure no one else is in the kitchen underfoot. Very carefully I pour the hot broth from the crockpot into the bowl. Then I add cold water into the sink, pull out the strainer, and let the broth sit in the bowl a bit until it's cooled off enough not to burn. Then I refrigerate the bowl of broth till chilled.

I store it in ziploc sandwich bags, just because I don't have a bunch of little stainless steel or glass containers (which is my dream to have :O ). I use my glass liquid 1-cup measuring cup: dip it in the bowl of chilled broth, pour into sandwich bag, seal bag, lay on tray. When the tray is full, I label the bags' contents and date with a Sharpie, then put the tray in the freezer. When they're frozen, I take the tray out, put the little bags into a gallon freezer bag, and stick in the freezer to store.

(sorry if that's more detail than you wanted; it took me a while to work out all the quirks, so I'm pretty particular about the process after much trial-and-error :shifty )

oh, and a lot of people skim the fat after the broth has chilled in the fridge. I don't, because I think it's both healthy and tasty.

[Proverbs31]

I do often puree the overcooked veggies and add them back to the broth, though.


great idea! I'm going to try that with my next batch, thanks! :rockon

[Mamaka]

Chicken bones, assorted veges (carrots, celery, onion, garlic) in water and cook on low-medium for hours, usually overnight. Remove bones and veges (the dog likes the carrot and celery in his food), season to taste. Super easy and very tasty and nutritious.

[blossomnatalia]

I have been getting an organic rotisserie chicken every week in the winter. I eat some if it for a meal and the next day I cover it with water and just add salt and a chunk of ginger (completely optional). I cook it for 2 hours on simmer. There is already seasoning so I don't add any veggies or whatever and that way I make it really easily without much work. Of course, II could bake a chicken prior but this really, the price of a rotisserie chicken is cheaper than if you have to bake it yourself. :shrug soooo, that has worked really well for me and I have a chicken broth every week. :smile

[jewelmcjem]

If I don't have veggies, I usually have at least onion and garlic at all times, those always go in, lol. I just recently started keeping more carrot and celery on hand and use those as well.

[Soliloquy]

The way to do it w/ max nutrients is this:

Roast a chicken. Eat the meat for dinner or carve it off and save it for whatever. With the leftover bones, cut off any large fatty pieces and cut the whole thing in half or into quarters. If you have any giblets and/or the neck, save those.

Put the bones in a pot, cover w/ cold water. Add 1-2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (or any vinegar, really). Let sit for 1 hours. Add a quatered onion (leave the skin on), a few carrots chopped into 1 inch pieces, and a few stalks of celery chopped into 1 inch pieces. Bring to a boil. Skim any scum off the top. Reduce to simmer, cover, and let simmer gently for 12-24 hours. Strain.

When this mixture is chilled, you can skim off the fat if you like. I usually leave it in. If you have a quality chicken, the stock should have gelatin in it and be thick, kind of like Jello when chilled.

To turn it into soup, add plenty of salt and whatever veggies you like. Adding fresh parsley the last 10 minutes adds freshness and important minerals.

[Soliloquy]

Forgot to add that whenever we have chicken of any kind, I save the bones in a gallon ziploc bag in the freezer. I jam my pot full of bones when I make stock so it is super nutritious. By making the water slightly acidic and simmering for 24 hours, much of the minerals from the bones enter the stock as well as the gelatin.

[SansSouci]

Wow! This is really inspiring!!! Thank you for all of your detailed explanations - I'm a detail-gal, so those are expectially helpful!!

Next time I go grocery shopping, I'm going to get a rotisserie chicken! (Start off doing it an easy way - to reassure myself that I CAN do this!) And the crock pot sounds right up my alley!