Homemade chicken broth

how do you make yours? i want to make it in the slowcooker, but not sure what to add (besides chicken bones and water)

Re: Homemade chicken broth

a whole onion skin on (gives a nice color), carrots, a clove of garlic, pinch of kosher salt, 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and a couple sprigs of parsley tied together.
I don't like bay so I don't use that.

eta : roasting the bones beforehand makes for a richer broth.

Message edited 8/28/2012 9:56:19 AM.

Re: Homemade chicken broth

mine's kind of a 2 step process

i take a whole chicken and put it in the crock pot, sprinkle a little paprika, garlic salt, salt, pepper, and onion powder on it

let it cook, and then we have that as roasted chicken

after we're done, i put the bones/end pieces, etc. back in the crock pot with water

sometimes i'll add an onion, sometimes i dont

i then let it cook on the lowest setting overnight

Homemade chicken broth

That is nice advice!

Re: Homemade chicken broth

Homemade chicken broth

i keep my carcass from roasted chicken in the freezer for making stock. i use carrots, onions, garlic, and a lemon, and then whatever else i have on hand - fennel bulbs, herbs. i don't add a ton of seasonings, i prefer to add it in when i use it.

Re: Homemade chicken broth

thanks! can you use any amount of water?

Re: Homemade chicken broth

Re: Homemade chicken broth

Message edited 8/29/2012 2:07:30 PM.

Re: Homemade chicken broth

thanks everyone! making a whole chicken today and the broth overnight!!!!

Re: Homemade chicken broth

I put the whole damn chicken in a pot of water and add chicken base, a whole large onion cut into quarters (skin on), an herb bouquet of parsley, thyme, sage and rosemary, lots of pepper, a couple of crushed garlic cloves, a stalk or two of celery (broken), a couple of broken carrot sticks, a dash of tumeric and a splash of orange juice. Let it come up to a boil, reduce heat to super low and simmer for a long ass time.

After a few hours I strain everything into another pot. The liquid gets put into the fridge. After the solids cool, I pick through and take the skin for chicken salad or casserole. I throw out the skin and sometimes puree the veggies to use as a base for soup.. or toss them.

If I'm feeling motivated I will set the bones aside for the next day. The next day I take the broth out of the fridge and skim off the fat. IF I set the bones aside, I will roast them and then put them back in the broth and simmer for another hour on low... but that's not necessary.

I store my stock in the freezer.

Message edited 8/29/2012 7:10:49 PM.

Re: Homemade chicken broth

Here's something I posted a while ago. It's a full chicken soup recipe but the end result is a rich and savory broth.

Feel free to use whatever kind of chickens you want. I use kosher. Carrots add sweetness. The bones actually help with the flavor.

Here is a recipe and excellent directions that have been passed on to me from other generations.

Ingredients:

2 kosher chickens cut in 1/4s
one spanish onion
6 carrots cleaned,peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
6 celery stalks-washed, don't cut
soup greens (package at the store) or, one turnip, one parsnip, one onion, dill, parsley. Soup greens usually have the onion or a scallion but I just use one big spanish onion and discard the small one they put in there. Depending on how much parsley and dill is in the package you may want to get some more.
kosher salt (coarse salt)
white pepper (important because who wants black things floating in their soup)
garlic powder

In a big pot (I use a 10 quart or bigger) put both chickens in and fill with water that just covers the chickens. You may have to clean the chickens a bit to make sure there are no residual feathers or tags (empire puts a tag on one piece in each package)
Put on the stove on high and bring to a boil. Skim the residue that forms on top.

Peel and cut the onion in half and put it in along with the celery, carrots, turnip, and parsnip. You want to peel the parsnip like you would a carrot and cut the ends off the turnip and wash well before putting in the pot.

Season with salt and pepper and garlic powder. You can always adjust this later so don't go nuts. Sorry no measurement here. You have a load of soup there so you will probably want to adjust later. Light on garlic. It should be the least of the spices.

Let it boil on med high for about one hour. Taste for seasonings. Adjust if needed.

Take the parsley and dill and wrap it up in a bunch together with white thread. You can go around the bunch several times to make sure the bunch is tightly secured. You will want that later when you remove it.

Continue to boil for another 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat and let sit for about 30 minutes. It will be so hot that you want it to cool a little before separating out the soup from the vegetables.

Remove the celery, turnip, parsnip, parsely/dill bunch/onion and discard.

Then remove the carrots and set aside.

Then remove the chicken and set aside. It will be fall off the bone tender so get all the chickeny goodness out of the pot.

Strain the soup into another pot or large bowl. It will be heavy so get some help to hold the strainer. Use a strainer not a collander..think fine holes.

So now you have soup, chicken and carrots.

You can shred the chicken and add it or add the chicken to each serving or don't add it at all. I add it when I serve it. I usually make matzo balls and fine noodles with it.

Add the carrots whenever you want as well. The carrots are so yummy from this.

This sounds daunting but it's very simple. It just has a bunch of steps.

Let me know if you have any questions at all..this recipe I make a few times a year and learned it from my grandmother, aunt and my mom. Now mom says mine is better than all of them. I think it's because I use 2 chickens.

Good luck! Happy soup making.