Do you make your own chicken broth? It’s very easy when you use your slow cooker. It’s also really, really good. Whether you call it “stock” or “broth”, essentially they’re the same thing. Stock is without salt & broth is flavorful like a clear soup base as it has salt added to it. I use both terms interchangeably but I always add salt.
Usually I use roasted chicken carcasses & the bones from chicken I’ve saved. I keep them in a resealable bag in the freezer. Or if I have don’t have any bones in the freezer then I buy some drumsticks. About 10 of them will set you back a few bucks. In with the chicken goes chopped carrots, celery, onion, garlic, peppercorns & salt. I cover the whole lot with water & cook it in a slow cooker for 6 hours on high or 10 hours on low, depends what time of the day I get around to prepping it.
In a past life, I was a classically trained chef & learned to make chicken broth – “stock”, the laborious way. These days I care about taste not clarity or scoring good marks in an exam. My slow-cooked method produces very flavorful broth without having a pot simmering for several hours steaming up the kitchen & stinking out the house. Just throw everything in the slow cooker & later that day, ladle the rich broth into a bowl, pop it in the fridge overnight, skim any fat from the top the next day. Then, if you’ve made especially good broth it’ll be like jelly & you’ll spoon it into containers to freeze. I use both jars & plastic containers, depending what’s handy.
Now you’ve got a wonderful base for soup, sauce, gravy, pot roast, stew, stir-fry, couscous, meatballs & beans…the list of recipes you can use broth in is infinite. So give it a go & let me know what you think. Cheers for now,
Lovoni xo
- 2 large brown onions, with peel, coarsely chopped
- 2 to 3 bulbs garlic, halved crossways
- 5 medium carrots, not peeled, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 small bunch celery, with leaves, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
- 8 to 10 chicken drumsticks
- Place all ingredients into an 8.5 quart (8.5 liter) slow cooker. Cover with water until 1/4 inch from top of dish; cover with lid. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 to 10 hours.
- Remove drumsticks from broth. Remove chicken meat from bones & reserve for another use if desired. Ladle & strain broth into a large heatproof bowl or jug. Let stand until cooled. Cover & chill at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Scrape any fat from surface of broth & discard. Give the broth a stir before ladling it into freezer-safe containers or jars, leaving 1/2-inch space for liquid to expand as it freezes. Thaw as needed. Makes 2 quarts.
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