How to Make a Tough Chicken into a Big Healthy Flavorful Broth!

The finished product - rich broth with just a little fat for good flavor.

So, the big Cornish Cross Rooster turned out to be a tough bird. Even roasting it low and slow for six hours did not tenderize that bird. So, I cut the roast in half for a future meal. I put a leg, thigh and breast in a zip lock and removed as much air as I could. It's in the freezer now.

Enough chicken for several meals.

I tossed the rest and the bones of the carcass into the big stock pot along with enough water to fill half the pot.

My cozy cooking area with that stock pot on the burner and filled.

Stashed in the freezer, I had bags full of carrot peels and celery leaves. I threw them in, along with about thirty whole pepper corns and five big bay leaves. I halved a sweet Vidalia onion and tossed it in, skin and all. I then added a couple of tsps of sea salt and turned the heat on low. I added a couple of tbsps. of apple cider vinegar, too, to help break down the minerals in the bones.

Bringing it all to a boil.

Then, I turned up the heat and brought the pot to a boil. Once it was briskly bubbling, I turned the heat to a low and slow simmer and put the lid on. Walk away, walk away! I checked it before going to bed and before dawn the next morning and filled the water level back up to the halfway point - it wasn't very low at all - and left it again until late afternoon - approx. 18 hours later. By the time I finished, there was no meat on any bone and the meat was tender and delicious.

I didn't take out all of the fat because there is a ton of flavor in the fat and it's of benefit to us. This is a very rich broth and thick from the gelatin in the bones. It's swimming in nutrients, too, minerals that you can't get in those store bought broths! I strained the broth into a large spaghetti pot and a smaller spaghetti pot. Then I separated out the meat, spent veggies and bones. I put the larger pot into the fridge and turned the smaller pot full into chicken and dumplings. None of that is left and I forgot to take a photo.

What it looks like when it comes out of the fridge.

Early this morning, I got the pot out of the fridge. The fat solidified and was floating on the surface of the broth. I really don't want that much fat in my broth so the next step is getting rid of it.

Using a spoon to skim off the fat into a small bowl.

So you can see that Bone Broth is very easy to make and uses things you normally would throw away. Save those scraps from celery, onion and carrots in a baggie in your freezer and the next time you have a roast chicken .. even the bones from a rotisserie chicken from the store can be used to make this rich winter staple.

Ready for canning or freezing or using just as it is.

If you really would like to remove all of the fat, wrap an ice cube in a clean washcloth and skim it over the top - the fat will cling to the washcloth. If you do, you will be removing good stuff but different strokes for different folks. This fat melts as the broth is heated, so it's not like it will be floating around like this when you serve it.

It's all ready for me to can it up for storage or freeze it or just to make some chicken noodle soup. The meat that I put in a separate bowl is ready for shredding for tacos or burritos, or bar-b-que. It could be chopped for pot pies, chicken salads, etc. I'll be freezing it in meal size bags later today.

So you can see that Bone Broth is very easy to make and uses things you normally would throw away. Save those scraps from celery, onion and carrots in a baggie in your freezer and the next time you have a roast chicken .. even the bones from a roterisserie chicken from the store can be used to make this rich winter staple.

RECIPE:

Chicken carcass or whole chicken if you want the meat, too

Water to cover the chicken by a couple of inches

About a cup each:

Carrot scraps or 3 whole carrots, tossed in whole

Celery scraps or 3 ribs of celery, tossed in whole

Onion scraps or 1 onion halved and tossed in without peeling

5 big bay leaves

20 - 30 whole peppercorns, or 1 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsps salt or to taste

Optional - whole sprigs of thyme, sage or rosemary.

2 tbsps apple cider vinegar

Simmer on low all ingredients in large covered stock pot for 18 to 24 hours - top off water level periodically to keep ingredients covered. Strain and refrigerate overnight to solidify fats. Skim fats in the morning and use broth as you choose.

Let me know how your broth turned out!