These directions are used for chicken or turkey broth. This is beyond easy, and the flavor is amazing! So much depth and the flavor is on point! You will never buy store bought after doing this yourself!
I’ve made chicken broth countless times and then turkey broth I’ve made twice. We just don’t have turkey that often and I don’t always end up cooking the turkey at thanksgiving. Just don’t forget to turn on and plug in your crock pot! Ask me how I know.
One awesome thing about making your own broth is you can accumulate your ingredients over time. If you are cooking dinner and only need half an onion, what do you do with your other half? If you don’t use it, you can put it in your freezer until you make broth. I have a bag in my freezer that is designated for my leftover vegetables.
Benefits of Homemade Broth
There are some benefits to broth. Here are just a few:
- Boosts the Immune System
- Great source of collagen (great for hair and skin)
- Promotes gut health
- Aids in detoxification
- Supports weight loss
- Electrolytes
- Vitamins (from vegetables)
When you make the broth yourself, you get to control how much salt is added to it. It really doesn’t take much salt to make the broth drool worthy.
Ingredients needed
You can kind of choose what vegetables to add but be careful of a few vegetables as they tend to make the broth a bit more bitter such as dark green vegetables. I’ve also heard that too many carrots aren’t great either. But I’ve added carrots with great success.
These are what I put in my broth:
- Onions
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- Peppercorns
- Apple Cider Vinegar (pulls all the good stuff from the bones)
- Bay leaves
You can also add thyme and parsley. I did once and I actually prefer it without them. Without them, it leaves me with more of a blank canvas so I can add whatever I want when I’m using the broth in meals or soups.
Also, salt can be added. However, I don’t add it until I use the broth. Because depending on the recipe will help me determine how much salt is needed.
How to make the broth.
Onions
I cut the onions into quarters. I even leave the skin on as I’ve heard it has valuable nutrients in it. They also add a rich color to the broth.
Garlic
I take an entire garlic bulb and cut it in half. So that each glove is cut in half. As with the onion, leave the peel on.
Carrots
Make sure you wash your carrots well. Don’t peel the carrots as the peels also have nutritional benefits. Cut the carrots into chunks, about 1-2 inches. It doesn’t have to be exact; you just don’t want an entire carrot just thrown in. Chop it up into large chunks.
Celery
As with the carrots, cut into larger chunks. I don’t add any of the leaves of the celery into mine. I’ve read conflicting info about yes it will make it bitter or no it won’t. I’ve never added it to mine, and I’ve been super happy with my broth.
Peppercorns
I just toss these into my pot. I don’t do anything to them.
Apple Cider Vinegar
You don’t want white vinegar; apple cider is better for the taste. You don’t notice the apple cider vinegar at all. I use 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per pound of chicken bones I’m using. In all honesty though, I don’t measure this at all. I just dump a splash in and be done with it.
Bay Leaves
Just place one bay leaf on top after loading everything, and the water, in your pot.
Recipe
3 chicken carcasses – also include pan drippings and skins or any meat left on the bones.
2 onions
1 garlic bulb
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar – PER POUND of bones
1 bay leaf
I like to use my electric roasting pan. You can use a crock pot as well.
I put my bones in the pan first and put my cut-up vegetables in next. Then I will pour water in my pot. Make sure you put enough water to completely cover everything. You don’t want anything above the water line. If something floats, that’s a different story.
Then put in your peppercorns and vinegar. Lastly, place your bay leaf on top.
Cover and cook on low, or 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit, for 12-24 hours.
Once you are satisfied with your broth, strain it using a wire mesh strainer to remove any large chunks. I then will strain it one more time. I place a flour sack towel in a large bowl and pour my broth into it. Once the bowl is full, I will slowly bring the corners of the towel together and pull out of the bowl. The liquid will remain in the bowl while all the smaller bits will be left on the towel, leaving a beautiful broth.
Once it cools, you can place it in freezer safe containers and freeze it. It can last a few days in the fridge or you can pressure can it in mason jars (my favorite way to preserve my broth) and process for 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts. More on pressure canning here.
Some people do remove the fat once the broth has had a chance to cool some. I don’t. There’s a lot of flavor and nutritional value in that fat so I leave it. Feel free to remove it if you’d like.
Thanks!
Thanks for being here, in this space with me. It brings me so much joy providing for my family (even though I hate cooking) and to be able to help others do the same just fills me with joy.
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