How to Make Chicken Broth

Photo by Muffet

There's nothing like homemade bone broth. Warm, flavorful and nutrient dense bone broths can be a wonderful addition to recipes or simply drank from a cup. Here's how I make my chicken bone broth.

1. Roast a whole chicken. This can be done in the oven or the crock pot. Remove the meat and save for another use. 
2. Place the carcass in a large pot. You may also use the crock pot. Cover the bones with water and add about 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes. This will help release the minerals from the bones. 
3. Add a couple bay leaves and vegetables. Onions, garlic, celery and carrots work well. I like to keep Ziploc bag in the freezer and then as I chop veggies throughout the week for dinner I add the scraps to the bag to use the next time I make broth. You can also use egg shells for added calcium. Don't worry- all the scraps and shells will be strained out in the end.
4. Cover. Turn on the heat and bring to a gentle boil. Scrape off any scum that rises to the top. These are the impurities.
5. Reduce heat to a light simmer and let cook for 12-24 hours. This will make your house smell amazing!
6. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.
7. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and pour into storage container. Be careful not to pour hot liquid into a glass container without warming the glass up slowly first. I learned this the hard way when I poured it straight into my favorite glass pitcher and it broke spilling glass and hot broth all over my kitchen! It is also not advisable to pour hot liquid into plastic which will cause the plastic chemicals to leech right into your broth Yuk!
8. Cover and keep in the refrigerator for a week or freeze for longer. The broth should gel but it is not necessary.

Enjoy!

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