On a regular basis I make soup broth. Currently I have a pot simmering on my 1960′s countertop with a couple quarts in the fridge from last weekend waiting to be made of. We are a soup family regardless of the time of day or season. I wrote a post about making broth back in 2010 but since then the topic has been brought up time and time again with friends. I am often surprised at how many people have never considered making this simple concoction. With that said along with my passion for home cooking I felt the need to write about it once again.
I make chicken broth more often then any other type of broth. Beef & vegetable broth I make occasionally. There is no need to follow a recipe. I usually cook it in a crock pot anywhere from 7 to 24 hours on low depending on my mood needs.
Anytime we eat meat with a bone, mostly chicken I throw the carcass in a bag into the freezer. Same goes for any extra veggies you may have. You can even go as far as saving carrot peelings, celery ends, and potato peels.
This will take like 5 minutes to whip up and then the crock will do the rest of the work….
- Place chicken carcass in crock pot
- Fill with water leaving a little space for veggies/herbs
- Splash (1/4 – 1/2 cup) of vinegar, I have also heard white wine, lemon or anything acidic. It helps to sap the nutrients and minerals out of the bones.
- Add an onion, couple carrots, couple celery stalks, garlic if your feeling adventurous
- Couple bay leaves, several peppercorns, sprinkle of kosher salt, and if desired whatever herbs are handy (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary). I usually throw in 1 or two herbs, whatever is in season or dried.
- Cook, cool, strain, use for soups, gravies, whatever your heart desires or store for future use. It also freezes well.
*Modifications…for beef broth use beef bone, for vegetable broth I don’t use vinegar and I use a wider variety of vegetables, whatever left overs I have fresh or frozen including but not limited to potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes.
It’s a fairly simple process. I encourage everyone to try it at least once and compare it side by to store- bought stock. Pretty sure you’ll be done with buying broth other then for back up stash in your cupboards. That’s all it took to covert me a few years back.