Every time we roast a whole chicken in my house, we make that chicken go a loooooong way.
We eat roast chicken for dinner that night.
We pick the meat off the bones, refrigerate, and use in various ways in the days that follow: chicken salad, chicken soup, chicken stir fry, etc.
Then we make broth with the bones.
Bone broth is a highly nutritive substance, rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and other trace minerals. It also contains glucosamine and chondroitin, which help counter arthritis and joint pain, as well as gelatin, which supports the connective tissue in the body and helps strengthen hair and nails.
And it is so easy … and cheap! … to make.
As you go about your business through the week, cleaning and chopping vegetables for various recipes, inevitably you have the scraps of the vegetables that you don’t really want: the ends of the carrots, celery leaves, kale stalks, peelings from broccoli stalks, parsley stalks, etc.
Get in the habit of storing these valuable scraps in a container in the freezer, specifically for making broth. You can use all parts of the veggies, even the parts you don’t usually eat … leaves, ends, peels, etc.
We roast a whole chicken about every two weeks or so, and always make broth from the bones. Ecodaddy loves our homemade broth so much, he even brings me back the bones from the rotisserie chicken lunches he has with his coworkers sometimes. No, I don’t ask him to do it … he just does it!
For storage, after the broth has cooled, I measure it out by the quart and pour into individual, labeled, quart size Ziploc bags. I lay the bags flat to freeze, and then once frozen, I can store them upright like books on the shelves in the freezer. Just make sure when you thaw it, you place it in a bowl or pot in case the plastic gets a little ripped during storage.
I use broth for everything. I cook all my grains in it. I braise vegetables in it. Sometimes, I warm up a mug of it and drink it as my morning hot beverage. I drank it during my early stages of labor with Ecobaby, and it carried me through an intense, amazing waterbirth at home.
Homemade broth is truly wonderful stuff!
- Bones from one cooked chicken
- 2 Tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 1 large onion, cut in eighths
- 3 carrots, roughly chopped
- Large handful of chopped celery leaves, or 2 stalks celery roughly chopped
- Stalks from half bunch parsley, chopped
- Stalks from half bunch kale, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, cut in half
- 1 large or 2 medium bay leaves
- Approx. 20 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 8 whole peppercorns
- In a large soup pot, heat EVOO over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and stir occasionally, sauteing until everything begin to soften.
- Add celery leaves, parsley stalks, kale stalks and garlic; saute for another minute or two
- Add chicken bones and enough water to cover bones and veggies by several inches
- Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover pot, and let simmer for 6-48 hours
- Remove from heat and strain through a colander or sieve. (I like to see little bits of herbs floating in my broth, but if you want yours perfectly clear, strain through cheesecloth)
- Store in fridge for up to five days; freeze the rest to use later
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