Homemade Chicken Broth

It is the time of year when flu’s and cold’s are making there rounds—and when they hit there is nothing better and more comforting than a hot bowl of Jewish Penicillin. Everyone knows that chicken noodle soup makes you feel so much better. While the carrots or the celery are full of their own vitamins and minerals, the broth has the most healing properties in it. The best chicken soup starts with nutrient dense chicken stock. Chicken stock is packed full of vitamins and minerals, and is high in gelatin which strengthens the joints and helps to reduce inflammation. A good cup of bone broth boosts your immune system and it helps to heal your gut. While most people start their day off with a cup of coffee—we start ours off with a cup of hot broth.

There are many recipes for making chicken stock—some complicated and some quite simple. I like to cook simply. Some people cook their broth in a crock-pot, and some people cook it on the stove. I like to cook mine in the oven. Years ago after a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, one of our guests shared with me how after he cooked the turkey, he added a gallon or more of water to the roasting pan, plus some carrots, onions, and celery, and then he baked it in the oven at 250 F overnight. By morning he had a nice batch of turkey stock. I decided to give that a try with my baked chickens. When I cooked my stock on the stove, I always had to crack the lid open with a toothpick so that it didn’t spit and sputter all over the stove. Cooking it in the oven eliminates that mess.

One of the simplest ways to make stock is to use the left over chicken carcass and the pan drippings from baking a whole chicken. You can also use the whole chicken, or a few chicken backs. The first thing that you need is a pot that is big enough to hold two gallons of water and all the ingredients. I like to use a three gallon stock pot that is oven proof. To that pot I add either my cooked chicken carcass and pan drippings, or some chicken backs. Then I wash up three stalks of celery, three or four carrots, and a large onion all of which I coarsely chop and add to the pot. Next I add in some chicken feet and heads—I add about 12 feet and 6 heads. Yes—I am serious! Chicken feet are high in vitamins, minerals, collagen, and calcium. You can add some apple cider vinegar if you like to help pull out all of the minerals in the bones. I always add a tablespoon of coarse Celtic sea salt, and some freshly ground pepper. You can also add herbs if you like—parsley, thyme, bay leaf, garlic and ginger not only add some good flavor, but they also boost the health benefits even higher. Once I have all the ingredients in the pot, then I pour two gallons of cold water over all of it and place the lid on top.

I then place it in the oven, and set the oven at 250 F and bake it for 12 hours—overnight works best for me. Whatever you do “DON”T FORGET TO TURN ON YOUR OVEN!!!!! Yes, I have made this terrible mistake. I wake up in the morning and I am not greeted by the aroma of chicken broth—and my heart lands in my stomach. To think that a whole pot of chicken stock has been totally wasted just devastates me. Once we tried to just go ahead and cook it, but meat sitting out for twelve hours uncooked does go bad, and no amount of cooking can mask that taste of rotten. So, please make sure that you turn your oven on.

When the broth is finished cooking take it out of the oven and strain it through a cheesecloth. One way to know that your broth has cooked long enough is to check the water level—when it has dropped an inch, it is done. Then let the broth cool, so that you can handle it. Pour it into a jar and place it in the fridge. When your broth is cooled, it should be the consistency of jello—that is all the gelatin from the bones and the feet.

You do not have to wait until you are sick to make you some chicken stock—it is a staple to have on hand all the time. We always make two gallons a week, and drink a cup of it every morning with breakfast. We also use it to make soups and gravies. So get in your kitchen, make you some broth—and sit back and ENJOY!