I remember living on Indiana Avenue my sophomore year at Indiana University. It was one of those sweet, little off-campus houses with a kitchen mostly used for holding cereal boxes and milk and reheating take-out Indian food. I shared it with three other girls, and while we had a lot of fun together, sous chefs we were not.
That spring, I came down with the most awful cold. I still remember it. It was one of those colds that you begged your roommate to take a note to your Accounting professor because you were too ill to go to class on a day you knew you had to be there. And it was also the days of no email and running to the computer lab at 11:45pm to print your paper before they closed at midnight, but whatever. Go-ahead and bask in your Inkjet at home while I date myself over here.
Back to the story – I had a cold. And one of my sweet roommates generously offered to make a bowl of chicken noodle soup for me. Which is to say, she opened a can, plopped it into a bowl, pushed a few buttons, and brought it to me in bed. To say I was thrilled is an understatement, because anyone loves being taken care of when they are sick. But now, after all these years, I truly understand the “chicken noodle soup while sick” situation.
The broth.
It is so chockfull of vitamins and minerals- so much goodness. It is good for joints, for your immune system, for your gut. Homemade bone broth is truly the golden nectar of the Gods. And once you have soup made with it, the stuff in the can or in the box at the grocery store pales in comparison. I will sometimes have a hot cup of broth in the mornings, especially during the winter, if a scratchy throat presents itself.
So, here is my recipe for homemade chicken bone broth.
You will need:
-1 chicken carcass – I leave the neck attached, but if your is separated, go ahead and put that in the mix as well.
– any vegetables you want to throw in – I like to use carrots, celery, and onions. No need to peel anything. Simply wash and toss in. All of those outer layers have goodness, too.
– garlic, about 4- 6 cloves
– chicken feet – not necessary, but a great addition. If you buy your chicken from a local farmer, or go to a farmer’s market, there is a good chance they will have feet to sell you.
– herbs of choice – I usually just add thyme
– a 1/4 – 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar. This aids in pulling the goodness out of the bones.
– filtered water
Optional first step – If you do use chicken feet, they need to be prepped. Our hens are free range, which means their feet get gross. The best option is to remove the skin. So, we do a quick ten minute simmer on the stove to clean them and and loosen the skin so it can be peeled. Place your chicken feet in a small pot on the stove, bring to a boil, then simmer for ten minutes. During this time, get a bowl of ice water ready. At the ten minute mark, remove the feet and blanch them in the cold water. Then, once cooled, peel the skin. It should come off fairly easily. Below, another pic of feet now peeled and vegetables ready to go into the pot.
Now, we put all of it in a large stockpot or 6-qt slow cooker. I prefer the slow cooker – this way, you can put everything in at night after you eat, set it on low, and let it go for the 24 hours it should have for maximum bone broth goodness.
Now fill the pot roughly two inches below the top with water, put the lid on, turn on to low, and let go until the next evening. Note: Make sure to fill the pot as much as you can. As the cooking progresses, some of the water will evaporate, so you want to make sure you have as much as possible in the pot.
And that’s it until 24 hours later.
Pull out a large bowl and scoop out the large pieces of veggies with tongs and a slotted spoon for small pieces. (If you don’t currently compost, now is the perfect time to start! These veggies are a perfect way to begin…maybe that should be a future post?)
Then, I use my 2-cup measuring cup with a spout to pour the broth, through a sieve, into a large mason jar.
And there you have it. Delicious bone broth.
I usually keep one large jar in the fridge for the aforementioned morning hot mugs or if I plan to make soup within the next couple of days. Otherwise, I buy freezer quart bags, fill them with 1 cup of broth, lay the filled bags out on a cookie tray so they lie flat, then stick in the freezer for a day. This way, they freeze evenly and thaw easily. Then remove from the cookie sheet and keep in your freezer to store for future use. Side note: when pulling these bags out of the freezer to thaw, it’s always good to place the bags in a bowl. Occasionally, a bag will pop a small hole and once thawed, your broth will be a puddle on your counter top.
And there it is! And here is to all of the delicious broth and chicken noodle soup in your future!
