Crockpot Chicken Broth

 **I originally posted this on Wednesday but Blogger seems to have lost it with all the issues they've had in the past few days. So I'm reposting. This is one good reason to subscribe to your own blog in Google Reader! I only had to copy and paste!

I mention making homemade chicken broth a lot here on my blog and I've also explained how to make it to a lot of people in real life. A commenter requested that I share how I make broth in the crockpot about a year ago. Oops!

So here it is!

This is really simple!

On a side note, my husband thinks I should have a blog named, "It's really very simple." Since he claims I say that every time I begin to give instructions for making something. :-)

You will need: 

• a chicken carcass or a collection of chicken bones
• a couple of carrots cut in large chunks
• a celery stalk or two, cut in large chunks
• an onion, cut in quarters or large chunks.
• water: I like to use filtered water but that's up to you.
• spices: I use sea salt, black pepper, a bay leaf, some garlic or garlic powder, and some basil or oregano. This is totally up to you as to which spices you use or if you use any at all!
• a crockpot! The pot pictured is a 5 quart. Smaller or larger will work just as well.
• Optional: a container of veggie scraps:  If you have lots of scraps, you can choose to use these instead of the other cut veggies if you prefer.
• Optional: apple cider vinegar: A swig or two of apple cider vinegar added to the pot and allowed to sit  for a half hour before cooking will help to draw the minerals out of the bones into the broth. This does not affect the taste of the broth at all.

Add all ingredients to crockpot. Cover bones with water. If using vinegar, add and let pot sit at room temp for about 30 minutes. Otherwise, put lid on pot and turn to low.

Let cook for 10-24 hours. I usually let it cook about 12 hours or more if I'm really busy and don't want to deal with it. I often will throw this all in the crockpot after a chicken dinner and let it cook overnight.

Check pot every so often and make sure water is not running low. This doesn't usually happen to me but if it does, just add a bit more.

When done cooking, turn crockpot off and remove lid. This will be very hot so you'll probably be better off if you let it cool down some.

Get out a big bowl and using a strainer, pour broth into bowl. If there are bits of chicken in the broth, you can dig those out if you want and set them aside to put in a pot of soup. Otherwise, discard all the veggies and bones. I double bag them before throwing in the trash for leaking purposes and so pets aren't as likely to get into them.

Cover bowl and refrigerate overnight or for a few hours. Most likely, a hard layer of fat will settle on top. Scrape that off and underneath you'll see beautiful homemade chicken broth!

The best broth is more like a wiggly gelatin than a liquid. Mine doesn't always turn out that way but I use it anyways. :-)

Now you can use your broth to make soup or freeze in small containers for later use. If the broth has really cooked down into a rich broth, you can reconstitute with some water when using.

**I make beef broth this same way and sometimes I just make vegetable broth if I have veggies scraps and no bones.

** If you don't have a crockpot, use a large stockpot on the stove instead. Follow directions above and turn to high to bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low, cover and let cook all day. You will want to watch this a bit more closely than the crock and make sure it doesn't boil over or cook the water down to far.

Happy broth making!

Feel free to ask any questions about this or add comments in the comments section!