Description

Waste not, want not! Make use of your leftover chicken bones by cooking your own delicious and nutritious broth. Use it for sipping, soups and stews, or stir-fries.

Scale

Ingredients

Leftover bones, meat, and skin of 1 – 2 roast chickens
Small head of garlic
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
~ 4 quarts filtered water
1 cup rough chopped carrots (optional)
1 cup rough chopped celery (optional)
Ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Add the chicken carcass(es) to the pot of a 6 quart slow cooker.
Peel and smash the cloves of garlic. Add to the pot.
Add salt and vinegar.
Add filtered water so that it is covering all the bones, meat and skin and is close to the top of the slow cooker pot.
Set your slow cooker on low for 16 to 24 hours.
After about 10 hours, add the carrots and celery (if using) to the pot and allow to continue cooking.
After 16 to 24 hours, turn off the slow cooker and allow contents to cool slightly. Then strain out the solids using a fine sieve over a large stock pot.
You should be left with a beautiful golden broth!
I use freezer safe mason jars to store some of it in the freezer and a larger jar for the fridge.
If planning to make soup, pick off any meat from the bones and set aside to add to the broth when you are ready.

Notes

I am always so grateful to have homemade broth stored in our freezer for when someone in the family is fighting off a bug or injury. We welcome the nourishing benefits of the broth many times a day. I pull a small jar from the freezer, run it under warm/hot water for a couple minutes, add the mostly frozen chunk to a small saucepan and heat it over medium heat (stirring frequently) for a few minutes and then pour it into a mug for delicious sipping!

Bone broth may also be made in a large stock pot on the stove and gently simmered.