Bone Broth Basics
How to Turn a Roast Chicken Carcass into Delicious Bone Broth
You’ve done it.
Meal planned like crazy.
Gotten to the grocery store, list in hand.
You’re gonna make your family delicious, healthy meals.
It’s all planned out.
Your list calls for a box of broth. Easy enough.
You enter the soup aisle…and the overwhelm hits you.
Broth.
Stock.
Bone broth.
Low-sodium.
No-sodium.
Herbs-added.
Vegetarian.
All sorts of health claims. Wildly different price points.
It’s just too much - what do you do?
If you’re like me, probably grab the closest (and cheapest) one, run for the hills, and hope it doesn’t ruin your new recipe.
Ok. Maybe that’s a bit dramatic. But seriously. Have you been in the soup aisle lately? It’s a little much.
And…have you looked at the prices of some of those broths and stocks? Whoa.
What if I told you that you could make your own? And for a fraction of the price? And know exactly what was in it?
It’s easy - I promise.
Definitions:
Just like a trusty high school textbook, I’m going to start with some basic definitions to get us on the same page.
Broth: This is the liquid that is produced when any combination of meat, bones, or veggies is cooked. It is lighter in flavor and is a very thin liquid. Usually broths are made by cooking food for less than four hours.
Stock: This is suuuuuper similar to broth. The main differences are that it has richer flavor and is usually a bit thicker. This is because of two key factors:
1) Stock MUST have bones cooking in it.
2) Stock is cooked for significantly longer, usually in the 12-48 hour range.
Cooking bones for that extended period of time breaks down the collagen and connective tissues, resulting in the thicker, richer liquid.
Bone Broth: This is another name for stock. But if you call it bone broth, it’s trendy and stores can charge more for it. ;)
To be consistent, we’re going to refer to bone broth as stock for the remainder of this post.
Which Should I Use?
Let’s make this easy.
If you’re reading a recipe and it says to add stock, but you’ve only got broth on hand…you’re gonna be fine.
Yes. There are differences between the two.
But unless you’re a professional chef, you probably won’t be able to tell the difference in your end product.
And if you’re a professional chef, you’re probably reading blogs other than our farm’s ;)
How to Make Chicken Stock
1 Start with your chicken.
I like using a carcass from a roast chicken. Once we’ve picked off all the meat and saved it for future meals, it’s perfect for making stock.
2. Roast your bones.
Traditionally, bones are roasted before being used to make stock. It creates a better flavor for your stock. That being said, since a roast chicken carcass has already been cooked, this step is entirely optional.
If you want a lighter, more yellow stock (using for chicken soup), then pass on the roasting.
If you’d like a darker, richer stock (stews, stir-fries, sauces), then toss your chicken carcass in a roasting pan at 450°F for about 15 minutes. After the roasting process, don’t forget to scrape out all the good roasty bits and drippings from the roasting pan into your stock pot - it’ll elevate the flavor even more.
3. Put it in the pot.
Add your chicken carcass to your cooking pot - this can be a stovetop soup pot, a Dutch oven, or a slow cooker - whatever will be easiest for you to manage for the next 12+ hours.
Add enough water to cover the carcass entirely, as well as two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. The acid in the vinegar will help break down the collagen in the bones.
4. Boil and simmer.
Cover your pot and bring to a hard boil. Once boiling has been reached, bring heat down to a simmer and leave there for the rest of the cooking process.
5. Skim for the first hour.
For the first hour or so, you’ll likely notice some scummy stuff floating to the top of the pot.
This is totally normal and nothing to panic about. It will, however, leave your stock with a funky taste if you leave it in.
Use a sieve or slotted spoon to skim these gunky bits off the top.
6. Add your veggies and herbs (optional)
If you want to add veggies, herbs, or spices, now is the time. This is a great way to add additional flavor and depth to your stock.
But please - go easy.
These additions will be simmering away in your stock for the next twelve hours…so they’re realllllly going to impact their flavor.
You may love carrots, but adding half a bag to your gallon of stock might leave you with an overly sweet broth. Just use some discretion. :)
Alternatively, you can leave out all other flavor and keep your stock as a base flavor so that you can add whatever you want to it when you use it in a recipe.
7. Let it cook…and then cook some more.
Let the stock keep cooking.
Seriously.
A lot.
Give it a stir once in a while if you like, but really - it’s a pretty hands-off process.
The only thing to really be aware of is your water level.
As the stock is cooking down, you’ll likely be losing water to steam, so continue to add just enough water to keep your carcass covered.
After about twelve hours, give your stock a taste test. If you’re happy, you’re all done. If you’d like a richer flavor, continue cooking down.
8. Strain out the bits.
Use a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth-and-colander combo to strain out all the bones, veggies, and bits.
9. Cool quickly.
Please, please, please - cool your stock quickly. Do not leave this on your stovetop to cool off slowly.
It is a meat product.
If left on your counter to cool, you’re letting it hang out in the meat danger zone, where bacterial growth rates can explode within the right temp range.
Instead, use your kitchen sink to create an ice bath.
Fill your kitchen sink with ice and cold tap water, then place an empty pot in the ice bath.
Pour your now-strained stock into this cold pot and stir regularly until it is cool enough to be put into storage containers (usually about 15 minutes).
(And on that note - do NOT put piping hot stock into your fridge to cool down. A pot that large with that much heat will bring up the temperature of your entire fridge - putting anything meat-based in your fridge in the danger zone.)
10. Store.
You can now store your stock in airtight containers. I use a wide variety, depending on what I have on hand.
Wide mouth jars are my favorite - just be sure to keep the liquid below the fill line.
Gallon freezer bags are another great option - the key here is to let them freeze flat. I’m not gonna lie - that’s not always doable in my very un-organized chest freezer. This tends to be a better method in the depths of winter, when I can just stick the bags on cookie sheets out on the deck for an hour or so before transferring them to a real freezer. :)
If you need smaller quantities (stir-fries, etc.) that only call for a cup or so of broth at a time, I recommend using a muffin tin to freeze some smaller portions. You can place the stock-filled muffin tin in a flat space in your freezer and they end up freezing into little hockey-puck shapes. Once frozen, simply pop out and toss into a freezer bag.
So…What to do with all this stock?
Anywhere that a recipe calls for stock, broth, or bone broth - you’re covered.
Cooking rice or pasta - Use stock instead of water - it’ll add a whole new flavor :)
Mashed Potatoes - Add a bit of stock to your spuds while mashing - it’ll make them even tastier.
Deglazing a meaty pan - add a splash of stock and get all those tasty drippings out of your pan - and into a delicious homemade sauce.