How to Make Chicken Bone Broth for Pennies a Jar

Harness the last bit of goodness from your chicken carcass and from bits and bobs around your kitchen to create a delicious broth that is rich in nourishing minerals and gelatin. Enjoy your chicken bone broth by itself or use it as a base for tasty soups, stews, gravies, and sauces.

Chicken Bone Broth for Just Pennies?

I love to make a Simple Roast Chicken. And now, I’m sharing how I make Chicken Bone Broth. And for pennies a jar!

How? By simply using the leftover chicken bones and carcasses. And a secret ingredient! Or what I like to call the pièce de résistance—otherwise known as chicken feet!  Adding these little gems will make the most gelatinous chicken bone broth.

You can also make a turkey bone broth from your leftover turkey carcass!

If you’re new to making bone broth and don’t understand what makes it different from regular broth, learn more about the differences between stock vs. bone broth.

Can You Save Cooked Chicken Bones for Broth?

Yes, of course, and here are all the reasons why!

• Less Waste! I find it’s a great way to make use of scraps that many cooks might otherwise throw out. But by harnessing the last bit of goodness from bits and bobs around my kitchen, I can create a delicious broth that is rich in nourishing minerals and gelatin.

• Chicken Bone Broth is Extremely Versatile. It can be enjoyed simply by itself or as a base for tasty soups, stews, gravies, and sauces.

• This Bone Broth Recipe is Easy…and Flexible. Although I am providing a “recipe” for this bone broth, this really is the sort of thing for which there isn’t a specific hard and fast recipe. In this recipe how many chicken carcasses you use, and what chicken scraps you throw into your stock pot, can be a bit variable. So by all means, customize this recipe and make it your own.

• It’s the Secret to a Rich and Flavorful Broth. Of course, chicken bone broth can be made from raw chicken. However, using the carcass and scraps from a roast chicken, the flavor of the broth will be so much richer.

Ingredients

Find the full printable recipe with measurements below.

For this specific recipe, I recommend the following ingredients:

• Chicken bones: Store the carcass left from roasted chicken in the freezer in a container that will hold up to three carcasses along with their scraps. It’s a great way to use the whole chicken instead of throwing away the carcass.
• White vermouth: My preferred acid for this particular bone broth. The acid is necessary to help the minerals in the bones come out and enrich your broth. 
• Apple cider vinegar: Only needed if you aren’t adding the white vermouth.
• Veggies: This easy chicken bone broth uses onions, celery, carrots, bay leaves, and peppercorns for seasoning and flavor. You can also use veggie scraps here as well including onion skin, celery ends, and carrot tops and peels. But I do recommend avoiding garlic and cruciferous veggies which add an off-flavor and potatoes which can make the broth a bit cloudy.
• Other chicken parts. Optional but if you’re using chicken feet, wings, necks or backs will work. I always add in chicken feet because it makes a nice gelatinous bone broth.

How to Make Bone Broth Taste Better?

Making a great-tasting bone broth depends as much as what you DON’T add as the ingredients you use. Here are some ingredients I recommend avoiding.

• I recommend not adding garlic. Garlic can leave a bit of an off-putting taste after a long simmer, so it can be best to add garlic later when you use the bone broth for soup or for whatever purpose you choose.
• Avoid adding potatoes or other root vegetables to the stock pot. They can make the bone broth cloudy, and in some cases, depending on the root vegetable used, add a strong flavor.
• Don’t add any vegetables from the cruciferous family (the brassicas which include broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage) when making bone broths. They, too, can add unwanted flavor.

How to Make Chicken Bone Broth

Step 1 – Place all the ingredients into the slow cooker or stock pot. Add your water and acid of choice (vinegar or white vermouth) to your slow cooker or stock pot. You need just enough water to cover all the ingredients.

Step 2 – Turn the slow cooker to cook on high for one hour, then turn it down to the keep warm setting and allow it to simmer for six hours. 

PRO TIP: If your slow cooker does not have a keep warm setting, turn it down to low and tilt the slow cooker lid to allow for some of the steam to escape to prevent the broth from boiling.

Step 3 – Place your stock pot on the stove and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer for six hours.

Step 4 – Turn off the slow cooker or stove after cooking for six hours. Allow the broth to cool slightly and then begin to strain ingredients with a slotted spoon to remove the solids. 

PRO TIP: Save the ingredients if you want to reuse them to make a second batch of broth.

Step 5 – Line a colander with cheesecloth or a flour sack towel and place it over a deep pot. Transfer the broth with a ladle into the lined colander so the broth drains through the lined colander into the deep pot.

Step 6 – Transfer the strained pot of broth to the refrigerator until the fat rises to the top and congeals. 

Step 7 – Skim off this fat and transfer it to a separate container to be used in other recipes. 

Step 8 – Transfer the broth to one or more containers with a lid. Store in the refrigerator or freezer 

Get more tips for How to Make Stovetop Chicken Bone Broth if you want to learn more.

How Long Do I Need to Simmer Chicken Bone Broth?

A Simple Six-Hour Simmer is All You Need! Although you may have heard that you need to simmer bone broth for three days on your stovetop, that really isn’t the case.

Simmering for about six hours is sufficient to leach the nutrients out of the bones and create a nice gelatinous broth. Excessive simmering can actually “break” the gelatin and make a watery broth. Plus, bone broth simmered too long can develop an “overcooked” flavor.

Once you’ve mastered making slow cooker chicken bone broth, you can also try making an Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth That Gels Every Time.

How to Use Chicken Bone Broth

• Enjoy sipping chicken bone broth.
• Add it to water for cooking rice or other grains.
• It makes a terrific base for soups and stews. It’s amazing in this Easy Chicken Soup Recipe.
• Use chicken bone broth in fruit smoothies in place of the other liquid.
• You can also use it as a base for making gravy.

Recipe Tips

• Save your chicken carcasses to make chicken bone broth. I do this by storing a chicken carcass each time I roast a chicken in a container that holds about 3 carcasses along with their scraps in the freezer. Once the container is full, I make the bone broth and add a few chicken feet to boost the gelatinous consistency of the final product.
• Can I make chicken bone broth with just one carcass? Yes, you can though I suggest waiting until you have at least two. However, that said, if you have only one carcass but you have some chicken feet, wings, necks, or backs, you can make bone broth with just one carcass.
• Remove the fat from your bone broth using a Fat Separator Device! This saves the time of chilling the bone broth in your refrigerator so the fat rises to the top and congeals.
• Cook chicken bone broth on the stove or in a slow cooker. If you’re using a slow cooker make sure it has a warm setting that maintains a temperature of 180°F. (82°C). You can check the temperature by heating water and checking it with a thermometer.
• If you don’t have a warm setting on your crockpot, tilt the lid so steam escapes and lowers the temperature.

Storing Tips

You can store the broth in multiple smaller containers or one single large container, depending on how you plan to use it.

This bone broth will stay fresh for 3-4 days in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

You can extend the time in the freezer by storing it in a separate freezer that is not opened frequently where it will stay fresh for up to 12 months.

Learn How to Make Other Bone Broths

How to Make Rich and Gelatinous Beef Bone Broth

Discover which are the best bones to use to make the most gelatinous beef bone broth!

How to Make Fish Bone Broth in 45 Minutes

Enjoy this Iodine-rich broth that supports thyroid health.

How to Make Pork Bone Broth in a Slow Cooker

Great for our skin, hair, nails, and gut health…and a great base for ramen too!

Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth That Gels Every Time

Make this tasty gelatin-rich liquid that is wonderful for promoting good gut health.

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How To Make Roast Chicken Bone Broth for Pennies a Jar

5 from 1 vote

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 6 hours hrs

Total: 6 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Yield: 8 servings

Author: Mary Bryant Shrader

Print Recipe Save RecipeSaved Recipe Rate Recipe

Harness the last bit of goodness from your chicken carcass and from bits and bobs around your kitchen to create a delicious broth that is rich in nourishing minerals and gelatin. Enjoy your chicken bone broth by itself or use it as a base for tasty soups, stews, gravies, and sauces.

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 items chicken carcass From roasted chickens
• ▢ 1 cup White vermouth Optional, if you don't use apple cider vinegar for the acid in your bone broth
• ▢ 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 3 Onions Quartered with skins on
• ▢ 3 Celery stalks
• ▢ 3 Carrots
• ▢ 2 Bay leaves
• ▢ 10 Peppercorns
• ▢ 1 Filtered water Enough to cover all the ingredients
• ▢ 6 Chicken feet Optional
• ▢ 6 Chicken wings Optional
• ▢ 3 Chicken necks Optional
• ▢ 3 Chicken backs Optional

Instructions 

• Place all the ingredients into the slow cooker or stock pot. If you choose to use the white vermouth, you can omit the apple cider vinegar. Add water to the slow cooker or stock pot just to cover all the ingredients.
• If using a slow cooker, turn it to the high setting for one hour, then turn it down to the keep warm setting and allow to simmer on keep warm for six hours. If your slow cooker does not have a keep warm setting, turn it down to the low setting but tilt the slow cooker lid to allow for some of the steam to escape to prevent the broth from boiling.
• If using a stock pot on the stove, bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to low and simmer for six hours.
• After six hours, turn off the slow cooker or stove. Allow the broth to cool slightly and then begin to strain ingredients with a slotted spoon. Save the ingredients if you want to reuse them to make a second batch of broth.
• Once all the ingredients have been strained from the broth, line a colander with cheese cloth or a flour sack towel and place over a deep pot. Use a ladle to transfer the broth from the slow cooker or stock pot into the lined colander. The broth will drain through the lined colander into the deep pot.
• Once all the broth has been strained through the lined colander into the deep pot, transfer this pot to the refrigerator until the fat rises to the top and congeals. Skim off this fat and transfer it to a separate container to be used in other recipes. Transfer the broth to one or more containers with a cover that can then be refrigerated or frozen. You can store the broth in multiple smaller containers or one single large container, depending on how you plan to use it. This bone broth will stay fresh for 3-4 days when refrigerated. If frozen in the freezer of a refrigerator, it will stay fresh for 6 months. In a separate freezer that is not opened frequently, it will stay fresh for up to 12 months.

Video

Notes

Save your chicken carcasses to make chicken bone broth. I do this by storing a chicken carcass each time I roast a chicken in a container that holds about 3 carcasses along with their scraps in the freezer. Once the container is full, I make the bone broth and add a few chicken feet to boost the gelatinous consistency of the final product.

Can I make chicken bone broth with just one carcass? Yes, you can though I suggest waiting until you have at least two. However, that said, if you have only one carcass but you have some chicken feet, wings, necks, or backs, you can make bone broth with just one carcass.

Remove the fat from your bone broth using a Fat Separator Device! This saves the time of chilling the bone broth in your refrigerator so the fat rises to the top and congeals.

Cook chicken bone broth on the stove or in a slow cooker. If you’re using a slow cooker make sure it has a warm setting that maintains a temperature of 180 degrees F. You can check the temperature by heating water and checking it with a thermometer.

If you don’t have a warm setting on your crockpot, tilt the lid so steam escapes and lowers the temperature.

Find this recipe and video at https://marysnest.com/how-to-make-roast-chicken-bone-broth-for-pennies-a-jar/

Copyright © 2019 Mary’s Nest, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Course: Soups & Stews

Cuisine: Americana

Keyword: Bone Broth, Chicken Bone Broth

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• 10-Quart Slow Cooker
• Fat Separator
• Stainless Steel Strainer
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