Description
Making chicken back bone broth at home is one of the easiest, most nourishing things you can do in your kitchen. It’s frugal, satisfying, and endlessly versatile. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll wonder why you ever reached for store-bought broth.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 pastured chicken backs (aka frames)
- optional: 4-6 pastured chicken feet
- 3-4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 onions, quartered
- 2-3 carrots, quartered
- 2-3 celery ribs, quartered
- handful black peppercorns
- handful fresh parsley
- unrefined sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add three chicken backs to a large pot or your favorite slow cooker. (Save 25% on my favorite nontoxic slow cooker with code ROOTSBOOTS.)
- Optional but highly recommended: toss in four to six chicken feet for an extra boost of gelatin (this is broth that jiggles, y’all).
- Splash in a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar—this helps draw minerals from the bones.
- Cover with filtered water.
- Add 1-2 quartered onions, 2-3 carrots, and 2-3 ribs of celery, chopped. (If you grow your own celery, save the leafy tops in the freezer just for broth—so flavorful!)
- Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and let cook for about 12 hours.
- When it’s done, turn off the heat and toss in a handful of black peppercorns and fresh parsley. (I freeze my extra parsley stems for exactly this purpose!)
- Let the broth steep for another 30–60 minutes with the lid on.
- Strain everything into jars and store in the fridge for 4–5 days or in the freezer for several months.*
- For sipping purposes, add unrefined sea salt to taste. For soups and other cooking purposes, you can add salt to taste during that process.
- After straining, I like to pick all the meat off the chicken backs. You’d be amazed how much tender meat you’ll get—perfect for soups, burrito bowls, salads, or just stirring into some hot broth for a quick lunch.
Notes
*Get instructions for freezing broth in glass jars: How to Freeze Food in Glass Jars.
