Homemade Broth

We love to eat soup in the fall and winter so we go through a lot of vegetable, chicken and beef broth. About a year ago I began making my own. I haven't figured out exactly how much money it has saved us but at $3.00 or more, 4 cups of organic broth could not always fit comfortably in our budget.

When making chicken broth I yield about 16 cups of broth for less than $2.00. In that calculation I did not count the cost of the chicken. I usually purchase a 3 lb whole (free-range, organic, vegetable fed) chicken ($10), which gives us approximately 5 cups of meat.

Fresh homemade stock is much more flavorful than store bought and a much healthier choice. When deciding what kind of stock to provide for your family I urge you to turn over the can or box and read the ingredients at the grocery store. Most chicken broth cans contain: salt, "flavorings", monosodium glutamate (MSG), dextrose, or autolyzed yeast extract. Even more of a concern may be the type of chickens they are using to make this broth. It is just so hard to know what has gone into that can and how long it has been sitting there.

Homemade Chicken Broth
3 lb whole chicken or chicken pieces
3 stalks celery, chunked
3 whole unpeeled carrots, chunked or 1 cup baby carrots
1 yellow or white onion, chunked
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (or more!!)
1 TBSP sea salt
1 TBSP ground pepper
2 TBSP vinegar
pure water
herbs optional (bay leaf, rosemary, thyme)

You can boil the chicken on the stove top in a soup kettle, Dutch Oven, or in the crock pot (my FAVORITE) . Put the chicken in the pot, add the vegetables and seasonings, then add pure water to cover the chicken (about 8-12 cup).

Turn the crock pot to low and let cook 8-10 hours. If cooking on the stove top, cook on high until the bubbles begin to break through to the surface. Then turn the heat down and let the broth simmer 6-8 hours.

Strain the stock through a fine strainer into another large stockpot or heat proof container. Cool and then store (see tips below).

Cool chicken. Pull meat off the bones and store. Don't throw the vegetables, chicken bones and skin away...

Broth #2: I make a second batch of broth from the chicken carcasses, skin and vegetables. I add them back to the crock pot with more salt, vinegar, pepper, herbs and water (8 cups) and cook on low for 8-12 hours.

Strain the stock through a fine strainer into a large stock pot or heat proof container and cool. Store broth

Beef Broth
1 large Soup Bone, 2-3 lbs
2 whole carrots, chunked or 1 cup baby carrots
3 stalks celery, chunked
1 yellow onion, chunked
1 tomato
1 TBSP salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed
10 cups pure water

Combine all ingredients in a stockpot, Dutch Oven, or Crock pot. Stove top: Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 hours. crock pot: Turn on low and simmer for 8 hours. Strain stock. Cool. Store.

Vegetable Broth
3 cups of Any vegetables: carrots, onion, celery, peppers, spinach, mushrooms, tomato, fennel bulb, broccoli/ cauliflower stems, leeks, zucchini.
1 cup parsley
1 bay leaf
1 TBSP sea salt
1 TBSP black pepper
10 cups water

Combine all ingredients in a stockpot, Dutch Oven or crock pot. Stove top: bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 6 hours. Crock pot: turn on low and simmer for 8 hours. Strain stock. Cool. Store

Storage Tips
1. Broth can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
2. Freeze broth in 1 or 2 cup portions in small freezer bags. Label the bags with the type of broth and date it was prepared. Store in the freeze for up to 3 month. This way you always have broth on hand to grab. Defrost in a bowl of hot water or tear the bag off of the frozen broth and into melt in a pot.
3. Freeze broth in ice cube trays. After frozen, remove and place broth cubes in a large freezer bag. It nice to have smaller portions of broth for making rice, adding to mashed potatoes, making roux, thinning sauces or flavoring casseroles.

More Must Read Tips
1. Don't throw the vegetables away after the stock is made. Eat them as is or puree them up to add to sauces, casseroles or your soup! Don't want to use it right away... freeze for later.
2. I start my broth in the crock pot before I go to bed. In the morning when I wake up it is finished and I can drain cool and store it. And then prepare the second batch of chicken stock and it will be done and ready to be stored as I am prepping for dinner.
3. These recipes produce very concentrated broths. Feel free to add water to stretch the stock further.