No Salt - Low Fat
Homemade chicken broth is not only inexpensive, it is super easy to prepare. Make it when you know you will be home for at least a few hours. Simply put all the ingredients in a stock pot, cover, simmer and walk away. The wonderful aroma will warm up your home and lure people into the kitchen to see what's cooking. Nothing you can buy has the richness and nutritional quality of homemade chicken broth.
Like many foods that once were a staple in home cooking, chicken broth has gone by the wayside of convenience. You'll find many low-priced brands of ready-made chicken broth. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for. Those broths are made for profit.
Most store-bought broths are low in nutrients and made with dextrose and high sodium. Swanson's has over 850 mg of sodium in just one cup. Even low sodium, ready-made chicken broths are produced with added chemicals (necessary to maintain particular pH) that don't have to be listed on the food label.
Making Your Own Chicken Broth
There are a few methods to make chicken broth. One way is to boil a chicken until cooked, skim any scum that floats to the top, then remove the cooked meat for chicken salad or other recipes. Return the bones back to the stock pot to make chicken broth. That method leaves excess fat in the soup, which can later be removed after the stock is chilled and the fat firms up and floats to the top.
Another method (shown below) is to roast the chicken first, remove the meat and use the carcass with a little meat left on the bones.
Chicken bones added to a stockpot of water along with aromatic veggies (carrots, celery, onion), herbs and spices will yield a large pot of high quality chicken broth in just a few hours. The broth can be used immediately to make homemade soup or frozen for later use.
Yields: 4 Quarts Homemade Chicken Broth
Ingredients
16-18 cups Water
1 roast chicken carcass with some meat left on the bones
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
1 large onion
5 whole peppercorns
3 bay leaves
few sprigs fresh parsley
Putting it all together
In a large stock pot add the water and chicken bones. Quarter the onion (can leave skin on) and chop the veggies into thirds. Add veggies to the stock pot along with remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for 2 hours. Cover, leaving a little bit of the lid open to allow some reduction. Periodically stir, then strain into another large pot. Use as needed or pour into storage containers, label and freeze.
Related Links
Grow your own Bay Leaf tree
Stock, Broth and Bone Broth, What is the difference?
Photo and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.
Diana, those store-roasted chickens are so tasty. I always use the carcass from store roasted chickens to make a little broth. Are those chickens high in sodium or other flavorings?
ReplyDeleteHi Sally, it would depend on how the store prepared it. This guy, Victor Sasson, blogged a detailed comparison of rotisserie chickens. http://doyoureallyknowwhatyoureeating.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-flock-of-rotisserie-chickens-that.html No surprise, ingredients may include salt, sodium phosphate, modified food starch, potato dextrin, carrageenan, evaporated cane juice (sugar) and dextrose (sugar).
ReplyDeleteRead the label to decide if you want to buy it. Unseasoned would be your healthiest choice. Look at Sodium percent daily value (%DV). If the %DV is near 5, it is low sodium. If the %DV is near 20, it is high in sodium.
thanks for taking the time to comment. good question! hope all is well. I miss DG