Make Homemade Poultry Bone Broth

There is nothing better than a warm cup of homemade chicken bone broth. Bone broth is nourishing, full of great nutrients, and easy to make. With a few simple ingredients, you can make your own homemade chicken bone broth at home. 

Bone Broth Benefits

There are many benefits to making your own bone broth. Bone broth has amino acids, which are good for your digestive system and aid digestion. The collagen in the bone broth can benefit joint health and help you rebuild after an injury. Many enjoy bone broth for this benefit. Bone broth has nutrients to help you get a better night’s sleep. Who doesn’t want the best rest possible? Your immune system will even get a good boost from your homemade chicken bone broth. Grandma was right; chicken soup is healing!

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Gather Supplies

When making your own homemade chicken bone broth, you must choose how you would like to cook your bone broth. You can use different methods to make your own bone broth. You can use your stovetop or crockpot or use your pressure cooker (Instant Pot) for a quick chicken bone broth. All of the methods use the same ingredients but will have different cooking times. 

The ingredients you will need to make your chicken bone broth are simple and easy to find. You first will need some chicken bones. It’s great to save your chicken bones from a roast chicken in a freezer bag, so when you want to make bone broth, you have bones ready to go. It is ok if a little bit of meat remains on the bones. It will add some additional flavor to your bone broth. If your bones are not from a previously cooked chicken, you will want to roast them first before adding them to your bone broth. Roast the chicken bones at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. You can then add the roasted bones and drippings into your cooking pot.

Other ingredients you can add to your stockpot include onions, celery, carrots, and fresh herbs. The great thing about this recipe is that you can adapt it to your preference in taste and even the amount of bone broth you would like to make.

A Tip

As you are cooking other meals, add scraps of vegetables to a gallon zipper-seal bag and store them in the freezer to use later in your bone broth. This way, you will have your ingredients on hand when it’s time for a fresh pot of bone broth.

The Recipe

Here is a basic chicken bone broth recipe. You can use this as a starting point when developing your perfect chicken bone broth recipe.  

• 2 lbs of roasted chicken bones
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (this will help to break down the collagen in the chicken bones)
• 1 tsp sea salt (or regular salt, depending on your preference)
• One onion (medium), peeled and roughly cut into pieces
• Two celery stalks, cut into smaller pieces
• Two carrots, cut into smaller pieces
• Two garlic cloves, chopped
• Any fresh herbs you would like to add, such as rosemary, thyme, or a bay leaf

Time to Cook

After you have gathered your ingredients, cook your bone broth using one of these three methods. The amounts noted are for the recipe we have above. You can adjust depending on how much bone broth you would like to make.

• Stovetop Method – place all your gathered ingredients into an 8-quart stock pot with about 16 cups of water. Bring your mixture to a boil, and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 14-16 hours. Throughout the simmering process, you can skim off any impurities that may float to the top.
• Slow Cooker Method – Add 12 cups of water to a 6-quart slow cooker, along with your ingredients. Place your lid on your slow cooker, and cook on low heat for 15 hours.
• Instant Pot – Add your ingredients into the instant cooker pot, and fill your cooker with enough water that your cooker is ⅔ of the way full (always follow the manufacturer’s fill line for your cooker). Cook on high pressure for 2 hours, then allow the cooker to depressurize naturally for 30 minutes before taking off the lid of your cooker.  

After your chicken bone broth is cooked, depending on your favorite method, you will have to strain the mixture. Use a fine mesh strainer to separate the solids from the liquid. Cool your newly made chicken broth to room temperature before putting it into your refrigerator. You can use a large container to store your bone broth or smaller containers, which are great for freezing. You can store chicken bone broth in the refrigerator for around 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Hopefully, we have given you some inspiration to make your chicken bone broth. It’s a simple yet delicious recipe that anyone can make!