Friday, March 26, 2010

Chicken Bone Broth


I love making broth. I love how easy it is, how it smells, how it tastes, and how it is pretty much free. Lately every time I roast a chicken, I have thrown the bones back in the oven while I am cleaning up the kitchen. After they brown, I cool them and throw them in a bag in the freezer. Then, when I have a spare moment ( you know, while I am eating bon-bons and watching mexican novellas...) I make broth. Seriously, this is as easy as it gets folks.
Yesterday I was going to make gumbo and found that I was out, so I thought this would be a perfect Frugal Friday post. Here's what you do, follow closely, it's tricky.

  1. Grab the chicken bones from your freezer, or the pan you just roasted it in and put them in a pot of water.
  2. Add whatever veggies you have in your house. I typically use the tops of my celery, an onion cut in half, 3 smashed garlic, and some carrots. I don't peel anything, skins an all in the pot. Maybe wash them though...
  3. Add 2 bay leaves, a small handful of peppercorns, and some parsley or whatever herb sounds good.
  4. Boil on low for... well, however much time you have. I have done it for 3 hours, and I have done this in the crock pot overnight. When it first gets going, you need to skim off the foam, that stuff is gross.
  5. Strain through a cheesecloth lined colander and refrigerate or freeze for later. I like to freeze mine in pint jars so I have 2 cups at a time. If I know I am making something that requires more, I freeze close to a half gallon. If you are really frugal, you can pick of the meat that is left from the bones at this point. I tend to pick mine over really well before hand, so there is usually not much left to add to the broth.

When this cools down, it will look something like chicken jello, this is normal, it will turn back into liquid when it is reheated so no worries there. We eat a fair amount of chicken, so it seems like I am never at a loss for broth. What is your favorite frugal recipe?

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