Chicken Bone Broth
As old as time, humans have been simmering bones over an open fire. Our ancestors understood the value of bones, they also ate whole animals, appreciating the totality of natures resources. Bones are primal nourishment. Original sustenance. The benefits of bone broth go beyond the easy to absorb proteins, collagen, gelatin and minerals. Cooking bone broth represents a reconnection to our roots of ancestral knowledge. A remembering of who we are and where we come from. Fall begins this Monday, September 22nd. As plants and trees begin their decent to their roots for the winter, I feel an instinctive tug to do the same. Soups, stews and rich bone broths are top of mind for me right now as I shift my kitchen toward cooler weather. As I write this, I am sipping a cup of homemade chicken bone broth after a 16 hour simmer. I feel joy drinking it. My senses delighted by the rich golden color and a taste that reminds me of comforting chicken soup. I used to be intimidated by the prospect of making bone broth — even slightly creeped out by the whole endeavor. I now appreciate the process and the pleasure of the end result.
Here is my current technique. Buy a whole chicken. Mary’s whole Organic chickens at Natural Grocers are a great place to start. If you’re at the market on Saturday or online, you can find our local chicken producer - Wisdom’s Natural Poultry. Cure Farm stand has them too.
Roast the chicken in the oven. I kept it simple. I rinsed the chicken under cold water, patted it dry and placed it in my cast iron skillet. I drizzled extra virgin olive oil over the skin and liberally seasoned it with salt and cracked black pepper. I placed it in my oven at 375 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. The general advice is 15-20 minutes per pound of chicken. My chicken was around 4 pounds. After 1.25 hours I used my meat thermometer to check that the internal temp had reached 160. I let it cool on my stovetop while I dashed out the door to the farmers market. Once it had cooled, I pulled the meat off by hand and shredded it for a soup I was making later that day. I placed the carcass in a bag in my refrigerator. If you don’t immediately make broth or within a day, freeze the carcass for when you have time for broth concocting. The most basic broth recipe is just bones, water, salt and vinegar. The addition of veggies and aromatic herbs adds depth of flavor and nutrition, but if you just make the simple broth, that’s fine too.
Ingredients:
1 chicken carcass
Filtered or spring water enough to cover
2 tsp salt
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Additional ingredients:
1 medium onion or 1/2 large onion quartered - leave the skin on
2 stalks celery roughly chopped
2 carrots roughly chopped, no need to peel (I didn’t have any, so I left them out)
6 gloves garlic, smashed with the side of my knife
small bunch of rosemary
small bunch of thyme
small bunch of chives (parsley would be great, dill would too)
2 inches of fresh ginger root roughly chopped
1 tsp apple cider vinegar to help extract the minerals
2 tsp salt
To make the broth:
In a large soup pot - mine is 7 quarts - preferably stainless steel or cast iron - add the carcass with enough water to cover it. Add the veggies, vinegar, and salt around the carcass. Bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer —- the aim is for little bubbles, not a roaring simmer. Cover with a lid and simmer for 8-16 hours, checking occasionally on the water level (add some more if needed) and the degree of simmering. I started mine in the afternoon and allowed it to cook overnight. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, use a slow cooker instead. A pressure cooker is another much quicker option that I've seen yield beautiful results.
Once complete, turn off the heat and allow it to cool for 1-2 hours. Strain through a colander into a big bowl. Reserve any bones for a future broth. I then used my small mesh tea strainer to more finely strain as I poured the liquid gold into mason jars, leaving some room at the top. Refrigerate first to cool off completely. Then store in the freezer. This recipe makes 2-2.5 quarts of chicken bone broth.
My next aim is to source some chicken feet or necks from Wisdom’s Natural Poultry for additional collagen and gelatin benefits. I’ll keep you updated on the broth journey.
Enjoy!
Dr. Jane Litsey