Homemade chicken broth is a great comfort food with an excellent reputation as a “remedy” against colds and flu.
2 | onions, cut into quarters | 400 g | |
3 | cloves | 0.2 g | |
1 | leeks, cut into large chunks | 300 g | |
2 | carrots, cut in half | 200 g | |
2 stalks | celery, cut in half | 140 g | |
1 | chicken, whole | 1.4 kg | |
2 | bay leaf | 0.4 g | |
12 cups | water, 5-6 cm above the chicken | 3 L | |
1/2 tsp | peppercorns | 2 g | |
3/4 tsp | salt | 4 g | |
cheesecloth |
Keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator; up to 4 months in the freezer.
This is a very basic broth recipe that can easily be improved. You will bet a much better flavour if you roast your chicken before boiling it. Remove the breast meat when the chicken is done roasting and keep it aside. Take the remaining carcass of the chicken as well as the juices from the pan and add it to a pot with water to cover. Add your veggies as in the original recipe and bring it to a boil, taking note of the water level in the pot. As the broth boils down, add water to the pot to keep the lever constant. This way, your breast meat will have some flavour while if you simply boil it you may as well discard it when done as it will be tasteless. You can use it for sandwiches or chop it and add it to the soup when you are ready to finish it. Roasting the bird will also give you a much fuller flavour to your broth. I give the basic recipe three stars but five stars with my revisions.
I never used to leave the skin on or use the whole chicken when making broth, but I thought I'd give this method a try after researching it a bit. The result is a broth far superior to just using bones. The extra fat, which comes from keeping the skin on, forms a thick protective layer over the broth after refrigerated. It helps to preserve the broth for longer. Also, the layer of fat is easily removable when you are ready to use the broth. I've also made it without the skin, still using a whole chicken, and it comes out very good as wel. After making the broth, I sometimes use the boiled chicken to make another sos cuisine recipe that I like - the "chicken and vegetable bake". The filling is especially tasty. The recipe is a healthy version of chicken pot pie.