3
Mar

Chicken Stock (bone broth)

chicken bone broth in a mason jar with lid removed

 

I'm not sure how 3 years have gone by and I have never provided you with a homemade chicken stock recipe! Considering how much I use it in my soups and some sauces, I was doing you a huge disservice! The recipe can be found in my cookbook, so I think I assumed it was always up here somewhere.

Homemade chicken stock is the secret to every restaurant chef's incredibly flavored soups. The boxed kind are convenient, but the flavor is never really all there. On top of that, the boxes often have “natural flavorings” which really aren't natural at all, or they add sugar. There's also the problem of being overly salty for some. I do keep a few boxes of Pacific brand Organic Simply Stock on hand since the ingredients are great, but I always prefer to have homemade in the freezer. I freeze some in jars and then I also freeze a few batches in silicone muffin pans so I can pop 3 pucks out and heat them up for a single serving. A little tip – measure how much fits into each of your muffin cavities so you know how much you're using for recipes without having to defrost and measure first! Mine fit 1/3 cup in each, so I know 3 pucks is a cup!

muffin


I do mine in the crockpot to make things easier and keep my stove free to cook other things throughout the day. This recipe is easily adaptable to other bones too such as beef, turkey, or bison! Something to note with my recipe – there only a tiny bit of salt added to the stock. All of my recipes account for this and have salt added based on the dish, not the saltiness of the stock. If you are using the boxed kind in any of my recipes, keep that in mind and purchase low-sodium stock and then cut back on the salt called for in the recipe if needed. I like to have control over the seasonings in the dish and do not like the stock to dictate it.

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I started drinking bone broth regularly during one of my last flare-ups a couple of years ago. Not only was it soothing for me to drink when I had little appetite for much else, but it is packed full of minerals that are easily absorbed by our bodies and the gelatin in the bones is a gut soother and healer. Read more of the benefits of broth on the Weston A Price website here.

“Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons–stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.” -Sally Fallon

HealthBenefits_BoneBroth

I now love to make this in my pressure cooker!

Chicken Stock (bone broth)



AUTHOR:

SERVES: 3 quarts

Cuisine: American

Category: Soups

PREP TIME: 20 mins

COOK TIME: 870 mins TOTAL TIME: 890 mins

Ingredients:

  • 12 cups filtered water
  • 3 pounds bone-in chicken parts and gizzards
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
  • 3 large carrots, cut into large dice
  • 4 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 2 stalks celery with leaves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley

INSTANT POT VERSION:

  • 4 pounds roasted or raw chicken, beef, or turkey bones, or a mixture
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, if roasting the bones
  • 4 carrots, halved crosswise
  • 2 celery stalks (with leaves), halved crosswise
  • 1 large yellow onion, quartered
  • 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 8 to 10 cups filtered water

Instructions:

  1. Place the water and chicken parts in a slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours. Skim off any foam from the surface and remove the chicken. Shred the meat off the bones, and set the meat aside. Return the bones to the pot.
  2. Reduce slow cooker to low. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the parsley, to the pot and cook on low for 12 hours or on high for 6 hours. Turn off the pot, skim the fat off the top, stir in the parsley, and cover for 30 minutes.
  3. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Store in the refrigerator or freezer for later use. Scoop off any solidified fat before using.

 

INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. If the bones are cooked, put them into an electric pressure cooker or a slow cooker. If the bones are raw, preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread the bones on a large sheet pan, drizzle with the oil, and roast for 20 minutes, until browned. Transfer the bones and any juices to the pressure cooker.
  2. Add the carrots, celery, onion, parsley, garlic, and vinegar to the pot, then add just enough filtered water to barely cover the bones and vegetables. Secure the lid, select the manual setting, and cook on high pressure for 80 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally, which will take about 1 hour.
  3. Uncover the pot and skim off the fat from the surface of the broth. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the bones and other solids, and let cool to room temperature.
  4. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week; or freeze in silicone muffin molds, then unmold and store in a resealable bag in the freezer for up to 6 months. To reheat from frozen, place in a saucepan over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, until heated through.
  5. Tidbits: There are so many good broth brands on the market that contain clean ingredients and have the desired gelatinous quality that comes from slow simmering, but making broth at home is less costly and you can tailor it to your dietary needs. The key to getting a good gel to your broth is to not fill the pot with too much water; add just enough to cover the bones. I use filtered water to avoid the chemicals and metals often present in tap water. I prefer the flavor of the broth when it is made with roasted bones, but you can skip that step and use raw bones. For beef stock, use a mix of bones with a little meat on them, such as oxtail, short ribs, and/or knucklebones. For poultry, use a mix of backs, legs, and feet. If you’re sensitive to garlic and/or onion, leave them out. I make my broth unsalted and then salt to taste with each dish I use it in or add a pinch of salt when drinking it from a mug.
    Buy It: Butcher’s by Roli Roti, Bonafide Provisions, and Bare Bones; or look for a low- or no-sodium broth.


Keywords: crockpot, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, keto friendly, nut free, paleo, whole30, soup, scd, pressure cooker, instant pot