Homemade chicken broth!
Can be used in homemade cornbread dressing, to make gravy or for a soup base...use in any recipe that calls for chicken broth.
Chicken parts, you need bone-in pieces like legs, thighs and wings
I usually use about 8-10 chicken thighs if that gives you an idea of how much you'll need (16-18 thighs gets me about 12 quarts of broth but you need double the veg)
1 large onions
4-6 large carrots
1/2 'bunch' of celery
2 Tbsp parsley
8 bay leaves
chopped or minced garlic, I usually just use the store bought in a jar stuff
8-10 sprigs of fresh thyme (ehh just toss in a bunch)
Peel carrots, peel onions, and rough chop all veg, size makes NO difference in this recipe.
salt, pepper and thyme is to taste
I have a bad habit of not measuring seasonings/spices, I just know by sight
Use 4 bay leaves with the veg and 4 bay leaves with the chicken
In a skillet pour a little EVOO, saute the onion, celery and carrots with salt, pepper, bay leaves, parsley, garlic and thyme.
Once the onions soften and the pan is aromatic, dump it all into a very large stock pot.
In the same skillet pour a little more EVOO and brown the chicken parts with salt, pepper, bay leaves, parsley, garlic and thyme.
Once browned and grease in chicken starts to release, dump it all into the same stock pot as the veg.
** If your skillet is big enough you can put the chicken and veg in at the same time, it just makes flipping the chicken once a little more challenging
Add water to the top of the pot. If you have a lid, put the lid on without sealing so it will vent. If you do not have a lid use foil and seal around top of pot but leave an opening to vent. Venting will help prevent it from it boiling over.
Put heat on low (I have a gas stove, I set it on about 2-3). Let it simmer for about 3-4 hours. Unfortunately its not an exact science, its kind of a sight thing. You can tell when its about done because the water doesn't look like water anymore it looks like broth, has a yellowish, greasy look and the meat is falling off the bones.
At this point you'll need tongs, a plastic pitcher, a large bowl or cookie sheet, a strainer and some jars or storage containers.
Use the method that works for you, but your goal is to remove all the pieces of chicken and veg and then strain the juice to get the rest of the chunks out. (Do Not dispose of the pieces or chunks yet!) Pour strained liquid into jars or storage containers. Let broth sit on the counter for a little while. After a little while the grease will settle on top, you can skim it off or leave it, your choice.
You can freeze this broth or you can pressure can it, or....if you will use it in the next day or two, just stick it in your frig.
Now to deal with the pieces and chunks now that they've cooled. Sort through and pull the meat off the bones. You can freeze it or frig it or just eat it now. You can use it in soup or cornbread dressing or make chicken salad. Throw away the bones. Throw away the bay leaves and any thyme sprigs. Take the veg and either smush with a fork or buzz in a blender (or just eat it now). Put it in a container and either freeze it or frig it. It looks kinda gross but you can use this as a soup base to make homemade soup or even add it to canned soup to make it creamy.
This broth is out of this world.
I suffer from migraines and 98% of store bought broths and stock trigger a migraine. I make a large batch of this in late October or early November to use for my Holiday cooking.
Yes, its a LOT of work but very worth the effort and time.
(The photos show 2 different times that I made the broth)
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