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Eat for your health, the planet, and your values.

Become a Sustainavore!

Eat for your health, the planet, and your values.

How to Make Chicken Broth

“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food” – Hippocrates

There’s nothing more nourishing than a warm cup of broth. To make broth, you first start with stock – and then season it to taste. Saving the bones from a roasted chicken, buying beef shanks, or asking for a fish “rack” from your fishmonger is an inexpensive way to get the raw materials to make what I consider the best medicine on the market: real food! It’s easier than you think and one batch can extend into many recipes.

Below is the recipe for chicken broth. Check out my posts for How to Make Beef Broth and How to Make Fish Stock.

diana rodgers chicken broth big

 

Chicken Stock
Author: 
Recipe type: Staples
Serves: 6-7 Quarts
 
I make this magic stock a few times a month. When I’m done feeding my family the meat from a whole chicken, I place the carcass in a freezer bag and save it until I’m ready. I also save the organs and other parts, like the feet, which give the stock extra richness and gelatin.
Ingredients
  • 4 to 5 quarts cold filtered water
  • 3 leftover roasted chicken carcasses, plus bonus chicken feet and/or organs
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 large onion
  • 4 carrots, peeled
  • 3 celery stalks
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
  • 3 bay leaves
Instructions
  1. Fill a large stockpot with the cold water and add the chicken carcasses and vinegar. Allow to sit for 30 minutes, then bring to a boil and skim off any scum that comes to the surface.
  2. Add the whole onion, carrots, celery (no need to chop them), peppercorns, and bay leaves, reduce the heat to a very low simmer, and cover. The longer you cook the stock, the richer it will be. I usually start mine early in the morning and turn off the heat at the end of the day, just before I go to bed. After you’ve turned off the heat, allow it to cool on the counter for about 1 hour.
  3. Strain the stock (through a cheesecloth-lined strainer for a clearer product) into a large bowl or separate, smaller pots and place in the refrigerator to cool (I usually do this overnight).
  4. When the stock is fully cooled, skim off and discard the fat that has risen to the top. Ladle the stock into freezer-safe containers. Label, date, and store in the freezer until you’re ready to use it.
  5. NOTE: If you would like to use an instant pot, just add all the ingredients and fill water to fill line. It will make less stock but it will be much more concentrated. I hit "manual" and set it for at least 90 min, but 120 would be even better, if you have the time!
Notes
The longer you cook the stock, the more water will evaporate and the smaller the yield will be. The quantity of 6 to 7 quarts is based on simmering the stock for about 15 hours. You can also make stock with a whole raw chicken using this same process. I do this with older laying hens that wouldn’t be very tender when roasted.

 

These recipes and more can be found in The Homegrown Paleo Cookbook: Over 100 Delicious, Gluten-Free, Farm-to-Table Recipes, and a Complete Guide to Growing Your Own Healthy Food. 

Image credits: Heidi Murphy

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19 thoughts on “How to Make Chicken Broth”

  1. Diana, at the risk of sounding dumb, could you tell me what bones are best to use as marrow bones? I have a friend who swears by sucking out the marrow of bones when she makes a beef stew, but I have never actually tasted the marrow before. I hear it is suppose to be wonderful for you.

    1. Hi Deb,
      You can ask your butcher for beef bones for stock. “Marrow Bones” are usually from the leg. In my cookbook, I have a recipe for preparing them so that you can eat the marrow. I usually just get a mix of beef bones and shanks (the meat on the shank makes the broth taste better in my opinion).

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  3. I’ve been making beautiful chicken stock for a while, but my beef stock has never turned out well. Hopefully these instructions will help!

    1. Maurice Castonguay

      This is a recommendation I have never been able to understand either. If you are using good quality bones/beef, I would not skim it off. This is where most of the flavor lives!

      1. Because if you boil for hours and hours, the delicate oils in the chicken fat (mostly omega-6’s) become rancid. I don’t stress as much with beef but always skim with chicken.

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  5. Maurice Castonguay

    You recommend not using oily fish for stock. I have heard this suggestion before and can’t figure it out. Is this something you have tried or is it something you have been taught and repeat? I ask because I have tried and the Salmon stock turns out awesome. I use it for a base when making Risotto or fish stews. I have also tried Halibut and found it to be okay but still prefer the oilier Salmon variety.

    1. Oily fish have more polyunsaturated oils, which I don’t suggest boiling too long because the fat can become rancid. Also, the vinegar is what removes the minerals, not the salt – salt IS a mineral. I add salt to broths, but not stocks.

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