The chicken carcass from Sunday was finally put to good use. I made chicken broth in my crock pot. I cannot see why anyone would ever go buy canned broth from the store. It took very little prep work, mostly using things I already had saved, and cooked while I slept. The only inconvenience was that I had to get up a little earlier than normal to drain the chicken and veggies from the broth. If you set it up before work, it would be finished when you come home.
I loaded up my crock pot to almost the top with the carcass, some leftover chicken, carrots, apple cores, celery (scraps and stalks), pepper cores, onion skins, potatoes, greens from leeks, radishes, some garlic cloves, and about 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar. Basically anything natural and healthy that you need to put to use. I even poured in a cup of vegetable broth I had thawed from when I made the braised mushrooms. I also sprinkled in some Italian seasoning and added 3 bay leaves. Next time I probably won,t do the seasonings, just because they were really hard to skim out. I read that vinegar helped to pull minerals and nutrients out of the chicken bones and veggies. Most recipes recommended apple cider vinegar, but any type can work. You can add salt if you like. I figure most recipes I will use the chicken broth in will be loaded with other flavors, so I decided it was not needed. I covered the ingredients with cold water and let it sit for an hour. This allows the vinegar to seep in and do its magic. If you don't have an hour to spare, then it is not a big deal. Set the crock pot to low and let it cook. My broth cooked for about 12 hours. You can cook it on low anywhere from 8 to 18 hours.
Once you have enjoyed not slaving over the stove and your broth is done brewing, you will have to separate the broth from the veggies. When filled to the top, my crock pot is way too heavy for me to pour directly into the strainer. First I used a large spoon with holes in it to pull most of the large veggie pieces out. The I put a fine holed colander over a large pot and poured the broth through it. I sent the broth through the colander a few times to pull out most of the bits and pieces. Like I said, I was unable to get all of the Italian seasoning bits out. That's OK though, it will just add more flavor to whatever I cook with it.
My next step will be deciding what I want to cook using my first batch of homemade chicken broth.
Once you have enjoyed not slaving over the stove and your broth is done brewing, you will have to separate the broth from the veggies. When filled to the top, my crock pot is way too heavy for me to pour directly into the strainer. First I used a large spoon with holes in it to pull most of the large veggie pieces out. The I put a fine holed colander over a large pot and poured the broth through it. I sent the broth through the colander a few times to pull out most of the bits and pieces. Like I said, I was unable to get all of the Italian seasoning bits out. That's OK though, it will just add more flavor to whatever I cook with it.
My next step will be deciding what I want to cook using my first batch of homemade chicken broth.
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