Easy Homemade Chicken Broth
Chicken stock, bone broth, whatever you choose to call it, this simple and cost-effective kitchen hack will transform your soups and stews.
When I was growing up, we never tossed chicken bones without first boiling them. Whether it was a baked chicken and vegetables, rotisserie from the store, or cooked chicken thighs, bones never went straight into the trash. This simple action of boiling bones that goes back generations somehow got lost in our modern, buy-it-if-you-need-it society. It’s so simple to grab a box or can of chicken broth or unwrap a few bouillon cubes, but it’s just as easy to throw leftover bones into a pan or instapot. It allows you to reach back in time to the days of using every part of the animal/plant out of necessity instead of trendiness.
What You Need
- Chicken bones
- Water
Let’s Make It!
There are two simple ways that I make broth:
1. Cover bones with water in a pan and boil/simmer for a few hours
2. Pop into the InstaPot on the broth setting.
Both yield delicious broth with minimal effort. I do not season my broth ahead of time these days, preferring to season the dish that it ends up in instead. I used to throw in sprigs of rosemary, peppercorns, a splash of soy sauce, and even some veggies/garlic to season the broth, but found that most of this work occurs in the final dish anyway.
Storing Chicken Broth
Once the broth is cooled, store in containers, LABEL, and pop in the freezer. Labeling is very important if you have a lot of things in your freezer…I try to use it within a year, but have definitely found a rogue container in the bottom of the freezer that was much older and it usually just fine.
Yes! Ham, beef, any time of bone can be boiled for stock. Just be sure to label clearly. Even shrimp tails can be boiled for shrimp stock — something that I learned from my mother-in-law.
Ingredients
Instructions
Keep any bones you end up with from other recipes and toss in a bag in the freezer until you have enough. Or grab a rotisserie from the store and use the carcass once the meat is picked off.
If using a pan on the stove, choose a pot large enough to cover the chicken bones by about an inch. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3-5 hours. Add extra water as needed.
If using your InstaPot, follow the instructions for broth on your appliance. For ours, I again cover the bones with water (an inch about the carcass) then use the soup/broth button. It’s as easy as that!
The stock/broth can be seasoned with salt and/or pepper to taste. I find it more useful to leave it unseasoned and instead season the whole dish I end up using the broth for.
Cool completely and store in plastic containers or glass jars. Homemade broth can remain in the fridge for a few days before use, but it is so easy to pop it in the freezer for up to several months. REMEMBER: When freezing a container, always leave an inch at the top for expansion.
NOTE: Always label your containers with contents and date made. Stocks, soups, and broths end up looking very much alike when frozen. Labeling things allows for less confusion and surprise 🙂
