Ben's Famous Chicken Bone Broth
My husband has been making this chicken bone broth for years, we always look forward to it in the cooler months! It's so good and soothing to drink from a mug. We usually keep about half of it in the fridge for a few days to drink in the afternoon, and freeze the rest for later!
Servings: 12
Equipment
- 1 Stock pot 8 qt or larger
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken 4-6 lbs
- 4 carrots
- 1 stalk celery (the whole bunch)
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 5 sprigs flat leaf parsley
- kosher salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add whole chicken to large stock pot. If giblets are in a pouch, remove from the pouch and add to pot.
- Liberally coat the chicken in salt and rub into the skin. This will be about 1-2 tablespoons. Sprinkle pepper onto chicken.
- Roughly chop the carrots, celery, and onion (leave peel on). Add to pot.
- Smash 4 garlic cloves with the side of your chef knife. Add to pot.
- Add bay leaf and fresh herbs to pot.
- Fill pot with water to cover chicken entirely. The water should be at least 1 inch higher than the chicken.
- Bring water to boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer, cover pot with lid. Check chicken with thermometer after 1 hour. Continue cooking until internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
- Remove chicken from pot; leave everything else in the pot, including all the liquid.
- Remove meat from chicken. Set aside to use however you'd like. Add ALL other parts of the chicken back to the pot, including bones, skin, innards.
- At this point, you may choose to add additional water to the pot. If you want a really rich, dark colored broth, do not add water. If you want it mild, add a few cups of water. I prefer it without added water.
- Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce to simmer and cover pot. Simmer at least 5 hours, but preferably overnight.
- Remove pot from heat. Once cool enough to handle, remove large pieces from pot with slotted spoon and discard. Then use a fine mesh strainer to strain the broth thoroughly. We pour it into multiple large glass pyrex storage containers.
- Then use as you'd like! Sip from a mug (and add a sprinkle of sea salt to taste)!