A Frugal Recipe for
Basic Chicken Broth
A basic chicken broth
recipe starts with bones. Some recipes will advise the cook to go buy bones
specifically for this purpose - but you do not need to buy bones!
In fact, once you start cooking frugal and healthy whole foods, you will find
that you have more bones than you will literally know what to do with. So,
start saving your bones.
It Starts With Bones -
How to Get Chicken Bones for Broth for FREE!
Where do chicken bones
come from? When you roast a chicken be certain to save the whole carcass. Just
put it in a bag and stick it in the freezer if you don't have time to make
broth the day you cooked the chicken. Did you just fry up some chicken legs,
barbecue some chicken thighs or make hot wings that were to die for? Do
not throw away your bones - SAVE THE BONES! Again, the freezer is
a great place to save your bones.
Once you have several
chicken bones and are ready to make broth, take your chicken bones out of the
freezer and toss them directly into the bottom of a tall stock pot.
Add the following
ingredients to the bones:
- 1 yellow onion, skin on, sliced in half
- 1 grated or chopped carrot
- The leafy center found in a bunch of celery, chopped - the
ghosts of our grandmothers say "shame on you," if you previously
threw this part of the celery away!
- A clove or two of garlic peeled and finely sliced or
minced.
- A dash of black pepper and salt to taste. You can leave
out the salt if you don't like its taste or are on a sodium restricted
diet.
- For extra flavor you can also add about a teaspoon of
dried Italian Seasoning if you don't have fresh herbs. If you do have
fresh herbs, toss in a sprig or two of thyme, oregano, basil, and a blade
or two of rosemary.
- Fill the stock pot with water until it's within 1-2
inches of the top of your pot.
Instructions
1.
Set the pot on the
stove, bring it to a rolling boil, and then lower the temperature until it's
just simmering and let it cook for the next 2 to 3 hours.
2.
Close to the end, add
more water to the pot until it's back to within 1-2 inches from the top and cut
it off once the pot comes back to a full simmer. Remove from the heat and allow
to cool.
3.
Once the broth is mostly
cool, get another tall stock pot or other container and top it with a wide
strainer or colander. Strain the contents into the second pot. Now, you have
good, basic chicken broth.
4.
If you want clear broth,
leave the liquid as is. If you will be using it as the base for a hearty soup
or stew, pick through the bones and remove any remaining bits of meat and
vegetables and add them back to the pot.
5.
If you want the both to
be mostly fat free, allow it too cool a bit further and then place the liquid
in the refrigerator overnight before you use it. In the morning, skim off the
fat, which will have floated to the surface and congealed.
Now that you have
chicken broth, you have laid the foundation for thousands of additional frugal
recipes, many of which I will share with you in future posts.
There's Always At Least
One Dissenter - Where's the Beef?
What was that you just said
dear reader? Did someone say they prefer beef broth? Well, just use the beef
bones that you've saved from standing and rib roasts, eye of round and beef
short ribs instead of the chicken bones and viola, you have beef broth. You can
make broth from nearly any type of bone, including fish and pork!
What to Do With Leftover
Chicken Broth
Just pour your leftover
broth into your ice cube trays. After it's firmly frozen, pop out the cubes of
frozen broth and place them in frozen plastic freezer bags that you've labeled
with the date. Now, you never have to worry about running out of chicken broth again!
How Much Does it Really
Cost to Make a Stock Pot (640 ounces) of Homemade Broth?
- bones- free- you were already throwing them out,
remember?
- leafy center part of celery - free - you were already
throwing it out as well, and yes, our grannies are still
shaking their heads at you going tsk tsk....
- 640 ounces of tap water - pennies.
- seasoning - pennies.
- 1 onion - again, prices are relative, but if you pay $2
for a 3 pound bag, that onion is less than 20 cents.
- 1 carrot - same as the onion, it's also about 20 cents or less.
Your total cost for the
whole stock pot full of homemade chicken broth is less than a $1.
Have you tried the basic
chicken broth recipe yet? Have a different recipe for homemade chicken broth?
Why not share it with your fellow readers in the comments section below?
Copyright Lyn Brooks
2014. No part of this article may be reproduces or reused without express
permission of the author and website, The Frugal Foodie Kitchen.
Photo Credit: citrus.sunshine
