Want control over what’s in your broth? Hate paying grocery store prices? Make your own, just the way you like it, for not a whole lot of money but a lot of good taste!!
I was down looking in the freezer recently for some broth and realized that I was out. Not a good thing!! I use broth in a lot of my cooking. It makes a great start for soups and stews. It’s winter here in Minnesota. Need I say more? This is an essential!!
First, make sure you have room in your freezer and enough containers to hold what you make! No use whipping up a batch of great-tasting broth and having nowhere to put it!!
I have a great big pot I picked up years ago cheap. And it is
cheap, too!! It’s stainless steel, but feels like it’s made from old tuna cans, it’s so tinny. I once tried making soup in it, but the bottom’s so thin that it’s impossible to keep stuff from scorching. But I kept it, figuring I could always boil water in it. It holds about 3 gallons or so. Perfect for making broth!!
You’ll need one chicken or several pounds of chicken pieces. Get whatever’s on sale. I cut the bird into its major pieces so it’d fit better. I also make stock with the turkey carcass after I pick it clean. Next you’ll need some veggies and seasonings. I used a couple of medium onions (quartered) and about a pound of baby carrots. If I’d had a bell pepper or a leek or a few stalks of celery, I’d have probably used them, too. Whatever’s in the fridge that’s past its prime but not ready to throw out yet.
Put the bird (bones, neck, innards and all) and veggies in the pot and add water to near the top. Throw in a few tablespoons of whole peppercorns, several bay leaves, a few tablespoons of soy sauce and some minced garlic. You don’t need to add salt to broth, as it’s not the finished product. The soup or stew is the end result and you can season it to taste then. If you’re making this to drink, you may want to add some though.
Once it reaches a good boil, dial the heat back and let it simmer for an hour or so. During this time, skim off the fat and froth that comes to the surface. You can get almost all the fat, so the broth will be low-fat and low-sodium
and taste delicious, too!!
When it’s done, strain it through a big colander, put the broth in its containers and cool it down before putting it in the freezer (if that’s where it’s going.) Toss the veggies and strip the meat off the bones. Use the meat in your next batch of soup or stew or some other recipe.
I have a couple of gallons of fresh broth out on my back sidewalk at the moment. It’s been out overnight, so it should be frozen by now ready to go into the freezer. I used a 5-½ pound roaster, so I ended up with three bags of chicken meat vacuum packed in the freezer for later. Not bad for around five bucks!!
Homemade Chicken Broth 
Who is that girl with my handsome husband? 
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