Chicken Broth Recipe

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Make your own homemade chicken broth with this tried and true recipe. Follow my tips for the best broth ever. I made all the mistakes, so now you don't have to.

Prep Time10

Cook Time2

Total Time2 10

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American, Jewish

Servings: servings

Calories: 42kcal

Author: Dana Shrager

Equipment

Stock pot
Large strainer or colander

Ingredients

5 pounds chicken and chicken bones 2 breasts, plus any combination of back, neck, wings, legs
12 cups water or just enough to cover the chicken and vegetables in the pot before cooking
1 large onion peeled and quartered
2 medium carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
2 celery ribs cut in large chunks
2 parsley roots or 1 parsnip optional, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 rutabaga optional, quartered, or substitute with white sweet potato or turnip
2 cloves garlic peeled and halved
5 peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh parsley
2 sprigs fresh dill
Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Start with chicken and water: In a large soup pot on the stove, add chicken and cover with room temperature water plus 4 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a good simmer for 20-30 minutes uncovered until chicken is just cooked through. Skim off any scum that comes to the surface and discard. Take out breasts and set aside.
Cut the breast meat into bite-sized pieces. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. Put a couple large spoonfuls of broth over the chicken pieces to keep them moist. Store the chicken in the fridge to use for another recipe or in matzo ball soup. Return the remaining skin and bones to the pot.
Add in all vegetables and herbs. Add more water to cover by about one inch. Bring to a boil on high heat with the lid slightly ajar, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 1 to 1-½ hours more. Take out and discard sweet potato or rutabaga at the one hour point before it falls apart.
Strain and season: When the vegetables are very soft, strain the broth with a large colander into a large container. I strain a second time with a fine mesh strainer to get the broth as clear as possible. Discard the vegetables and remaining chicken pieces. Season the broth to taste with salt and pepper.
Cool and refrigerate: Let the soup cool a bit, then ideally refrigerate it overnight so the fat congeals to the top.
Remove fat: The next day, lift the fat off with a fork, and discard or use as schmaltz. If you don’t have time to wait, skim off the floating liquid fat from the surface with a spoon. Broth is ready to use in soups or other dishes.

Notes

This is a flexible recipe, and you can adjust the chicken parts or specific vegetables and herbs to what is available to you. See guidance in blog post.
Don’t cook in too much water or else your broth will taste weak. Only use enough water to just cover the chicken and vegetables.
Don’t overcook the vegetables or else the broth gets more cloudy. The rutabaga and sweet potato can cook for about an hour before they begin to fall apart. The other vegetables can cook for at least an hour and a half, maybe two.
The broth won’t taste fully flavorful until you salt it. I recommend Diamond Crystal kosher salt or sea salt for a clean and pleasant salt taste. Iodized salt tastes metallic.
If you don’t have use for the removed chicken fat, then dispose in the trash. Do not put fat down your kitchen sink or else you may clog your pipes.
I find that after cooking, the vegetables and chicken (besides the breast pieces) have given their nutrition into the broth and that there’s not much life left in them. Some people like to give the chicken meat to their dog or use the chicken and vegetables in another dish like pot pie or kreplach. It’s up to you.
The broth can be stored covered in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen for up to 6 months or more. Freeze the broth in container sizes that correspond to your intended use.

Nutrition