Homemade Chicken Broth

There was a time not too long ago that I never felt I had a need for chicken broth. Sounds strange, right? Or not, depending on where you are. I basically kept bouillon cubes (or granulated bouillon) around just in case broth was needed, but I rarely ever used them. I'm not exactly sure what triggered the change, likely my discovery of the pressure cooker, but now it seems like I go into a panic if I'm out.

I'll make a broth out of anything. My pressure cooker is my best friend for this. And it all started about four years ago...

When I was very pregnant with my second and my hubby was working off-shore, my father-in-law came into town to make sure someone was around in case I popped. He showed me the wonder of the pressure cooker while he was visiting. Until then, it was a scary and mysterious pot looking thing that stayed stashed in my cabinet unused. When I discovered I could make shredded chicken to have on hand, I was sold. How incredibly convenient! Believe it or not, I still have yet to learn the art of cooking a chicken for shredding in a slow cooker. Oh well.

So now, shredded chicken and it's by-product friend, the broth are now staples at my house. As is pretty much any broth I can save from anything I make up. Got leftover carcasses? Lemme at it! And really, I'm not even all about the whole bone broth thing, I just like being able to use a more flavorful base than water with ingredients I control and without extra preservatives. If they happen to have extra nutrients, all the better!

So, now to the nitty gritty... How do I make it, and how do I use the pressure cooker to do so?

First off, my pressure cooker is old school. I have no idea how to use a programmable one or anything with dials and buttons. Mine has a pot, a lid, and a tippler. That's about it. The lid has a pressure lock that prevents the pot from being opened while pressurized, but that's about as fancy as it gets.

So, basic instructions, start with water. I usually just fill the pot about halfway. Depending on how much additional stuff I throw in, the water level may get too high, so I try to be conservative when I start. I'd rather add more water than have to pull some out. I put the chicken in which in my case is usually boneless skinless breast pieces. I've done a whole chicken, but the bones disintegrate and are sort of a pain to deal with, so I'd rather not do that. Hubs prefers just the white meat anyway, so that's usually what I have on hand.

After the chicken, the aromatics. In most cases, I stick with the basics - carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. If I have something else around that won't otherwise get used, I'll throw that in as well, but in most cases, I'd reserve that for a veggie stock later. Usually it's 2-3 carrots, 2-3 stalks (sticks, branches, whatever you call them - not 2-3 whole heads) of celery with leaves, half a dozen cloves of garlic, and up to about half an onion. I add salt and pepper and that's about it.

I fill up to the top line with more water if needed and close the whole thing up. The heat is turned on high to bring it to a boil and pressurize. This can take about 10-20 minutes. Once pressurized, I'll turn down the heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes. When done, I'll remove from heat and let the pressure drop. I read somewhere that if you let it depressurize on it's own, that it will make the meat juicier since the liquid (and associated nutrients) that have left it will have time to seep back in. If you quickly depressurize (for instance, I can drop the pressure and unlock it by running water over the top), the nutrients will stay in the liquid and the meat will be drier. I can't really say for sure. I think the pressure cooker usually makes a drier meat comparatively and I haven't noticed a difference from fast or slow depressurization, so I usually make the judgment call based on how much time I've got. Since I'm using the meat and the broth anyway, we'll get the nutrients no matter where they end up. When you open it up, it looks like this:

I pull out the meat with tongs, taking care to get all the little pieces I can find that have fallen off. It will literally fall apart on it's own. I'll set the chicken aside to let it cool a bit before handling. Once it has had time to cool, I'll use a couple of forks and pull it apart. I divide it up into zip top bags - usually two chicken breasts per bag - and squash them flat. This way, they stack and store easier in the freezer. In most cases, I label them with at least the date.

I let the rest of the pot sit and cool a bit (well most of the time). Then I'll pour it through a strainer into a holding container. Straining it this way gets all the big chunks out before I refrigerate it. For this purpose, my favorite container is my big 8 cup batter bowl. I usually fill it up and also my 4 cup batter bowl. I have also used large pitchers, so whatever you have on hand will work. Just a big enough container or combo of containers to hold it all. I will typically yield 8-10 cups total. Once it has cooled sufficiently, I put the lid on and put it in the fridge to sit at least over night.

The next day (or the next, or the next), I will put my broth out of the refrigerator. It looks like this. The fat congeals on the top and doesn't look terribly appetizing, but hey, that's me. I skim off what I can and discard it.

The next step is another strain and storage. My fancy set up for this includes a coffee filter, a funnel, and a pitcher. I love the fine mesh of the coffee strainer. It makes this part so much easier by trapping all the extra bits of fat or larger chunks of pepper and the random sludge that is inevitably left in the broth. I pour it through the strainer into the pitcher. The funnel is basically to help keep it from being messy and it has a nice rim that helps the whole system prop nicely at the top of the pitcher so I don't risk dropping the filter in. Once strained the final time, I'll then measure out two cups at a time and pour it into freezer bags. I label them and lay them flat for storage. In the freezer they go! I like to do 2 cups at a time because that is roughly equivalent to a can of broth and many recipes call for 2 cups. It just makes my life easier. As an added tip, it's a good idea to put your bags in a bowl as they defrost. Random holes seem to appear in the bags, likely from bumping corners, but to avoid broth loss when defrosting, I usually place in a bowl or container just in case there is a hole somewhere in the bag.

In a future post, I will show you how I make my own powdered bouillon. You read that right. Many people will show you how to make bouillon ice cubes, but I go as far as to powder it. Keep an eye out for that post!

Until next time...