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Easy Homemade Chicken Broth

A simple homemade chicken broth made with chicken bones, vegetables, and a few basic seasonings. An easy way to turn kitchen scraps into a flavorful staple for soups, sauces, and everyday cooking.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Servings: 8 cups
Course: Soup
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 chicken carcass bones and any leftover skin
  • 1 large onion quartered
  • 2 carrots roughly chopped
  • 2 celery stalks roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic smashed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 10 cups water or enough to cover
  • Salt to taste

Equipment

  • 1 large stockpot
  • 1 fine-mesh strainer

Method
 

  1. Place the chicken carcass, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a large stockpot.
  2. Add enough water to cover everything, about 10 cups.
  3. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer partially covered for 3–4 hours. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface if needed.
  4. Remove the pot from the heat and carefully strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer. Discard the bones and cooked vegetables.
  5. Taste and season with salt as desired.
  6. Cool the broth promptly, then transfer it to containers and refrigerate or freeze.

Notes

Use what you have: Save onion ends, carrot peels and ends, celery tops, garlic scraps, and other broth-friendly vegetable scraps in a freezer bag. When you have enough, use them in place of the whole vegetables.
Equipment: Use a fine mesh strainer if you have one. I also like using cheese cloths as an alternative.
Storage: Cool broth promptly and refrigerate in shallow containers. Use refrigerated broth within 3–4 days or freeze for longer storage.
Canning note: Homemade chicken broth is a low-acid food and is not safe for water-bath canning. If you want shelf-stable broth, use a tested pressure-canning recipe and process it in a pressure canner.
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