Chicken Broth

An essential, easy to make broth to have in the fridge or freezer ready to make quick soups, sauces, hearty vegetable soups, risotto, quinoa or add to stir-fry. It is a great source of free-form amino acids, gelatin and minerals especially calcium in a highly absorbable state. This makes sense as you are eating the marrow, protein and nutrients from the bones and connective tissues. In Chinese medicine, chicken broth is famous for building Qi & Blood and improving Jing - essence from the kidneys so important in TCM.

I usually roast an organic chicken, we eat the drumsticks, our daughter has some of the breast and then I pull off all the meat and freeze in smaller containers or store in the fridge ready for lunch, curries or a quick chicken soup.

Ingredients:

Organic Chicken carcass with wings and left over bones from legs

Vegetable off cuts such as celery & leek tops, kale and broccoli stalks, parsley and coriander stalks, carrot ends (I collect these in the freezer in a resealable bag)

Onion chopped into a quarter

Salt & pepper

Splash of apple cider vinegar

Method:

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker, cover with water and leave for 12-24 hrs, then allow to cool before straining off liquid. I then squeeze out the liquid and give the squashed bones and vegetable matter to our dog (just feel through to make sure there are no sharp bones - most of the bones are soft). Place in glass jars or silicon muffin holes and freeze or place in the fridge to use within 3-5 days.

To make the broth richer and more gelatinous you can use two chicken carcasses or add extra wings or even chicken feet (if you can find them).