Ingredients
- 2-3lbs of chicken bones
- 1 onion, cut in half (leave the skin on)
- 3 stalks of celery
- 2 carrots, unpeeled
- 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced (or a couple whole cloves)
- 1 tbsp dried parsley (or any fresh herbs you have lying around)
- 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp salt
- Water, to cover
Instructions
- Put the bones in a large stock pot and nestle the vegetables in around the edges. Add the apple cider vinegar, garlic, parsley, peppercorns, and salt. Just cover it with cold water (don’t add too much – this will make your broth less rich).
- Cover the pot and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Lower the heat to low and try to keep it just below boiling for 24 hours. If you have a gas stove and are not comfortable leaving a pot on an open flame unattended, heat your oven to 200°F and stick it in there until you can get it back on the stovetop.
- The broth is done when the bones are soft and the ends literally crumble. You can’t rush this!
- Once the broth is done, strain and discard the solids.
- Cool the broth as quickly as possible to prevent it from spoiling. My strategy is to put the pot in a sink full of ice cold water and stir it frequently. Replace the water or add ice as needed until the broth is cool. This won’t take long and prevents it from spending too long in the danger zone (40-140 °F) on the counter. Do not put a pot of hot broth in your fridge or freezer – that will heat up the whole thing and you’ll risk spoiling the rest of your food too!
- Once broth is cool, refrigerate or freeze it for later. I only refrigerate broth if I plan to use it in the next 3-4 days. Otherwise, I freeze it in usable quantities. Some ideas: mason jars for 2-4 cup increments, muffin tins for 1/4 cup increments, or freezer bags for 1-2 cup increments (or whatever freezer-safe containers you have on hand). The key is to measure and label!
Notes
If you are freezing mason jars with broth, be sure to leave headspace for the broth to expand when it freezes (otherwise it will break the jar). I generally freeze quart mason jars with no more than 3 cups of bone broth.