Chicken Broth for Pennies

I make my own chicken stock.  It is very simple to make and it is very inexpensive.  Store bought broths include additives such as color, sugars, and salts to cover up it's poor quality.  Since jumping onto the Real Food band wagon, learning this simple skill has added both flavor to my dishes and pennies to my wallet.

Whenever we roast a whole chicken, or simply eat just drumsticks, I throw all of the bones into a ziplock bag and stick it in the freezer.  I usually try to make broth shortly after roasting a chicken so that I don't have carcasses taking up valuable space in my freezer.  I usually make broth every month and a half to two months.  Or, when I run out of frozen broth.

I try to keep my system simple so that when I am ready to make broth, I have everything I need.  The bones are bagged up in the freezer and I usually like to keep a package of meaty drumsticks on hand.  If I REALLY wanted to save money, I should start bagging all of my vegetable scraps and throw those in the freezer, too.  Then I wouldn't have to buy carrots, celery, and an onion every time.  I will work on that.

Whenever I make broth, I usually cook it for 12 hours.  I turn it on in the morning, and then I turn it off at night.  When it is cooking, I try to not let it boil.  Boiling the stock will make it taste funny and it oxidizes the fat.  If I notice it boiling, I turn it down immediately.  At night, before I go to bed, I strain the stock into another big pot through a sieve and then stick it in the fridge.  In the morning, the fat will have solidified and I can scrape it off and then strain it a second time.  I used to store the stock in 1 cup quantities in little ziplock bags.  I would also portion out quart quantities for use in soups.  Now I store my broth in mason jars.  It is easier for me to manage and I have a TON of little jars that measure ALMOST 1 cup each.  Then, I just stick the jars (or bags) in the freezer and they are ready for me when I need them.

Making my own stock was one of the easiest, and nutritious, changes I made to our diet when we started on this Real Food journey.  Since it is painfully easy to make and very inexpensive, I hope you can try it to.

Chicken Stock

• 1 chicken carcass (or bag of drumsticks from the freezer)
• 1 pound of raw drumsticks or chicken legs
• 4 carrots, scrubbed and cut into 3 inch pieces
• 4 celery, washed and cut into 3 inch pieces
• 1 onion, peeled and cut in half
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 bay leaf, optional
• 1 tbsp peppercorns, optional
• A few sprigs of thyme, optional

Dump all of the ingredients into a large stock pot and cover with filtered water by about an inch or two.  To draw out more of the calcium from the bones, let the pot sit for an hour at room temperature, but this is only optional.  Bring to a low simmer and cover.  Keep it at a low simmer for 3 to 24 hours.  The longer you simmer, the more flavor and minerals leach out into the water.  You can also make this using a slow cooker, using the same directions as above and cooking on low.