Chicken Broth & Stock

Chicken stock is short cooked (2-4 hours) and features the anti-inflammatory, gut- healing amino acids proline and glycine and gelatin.

Chicken broth is longer cooked (often in excess of 48 hours and up to 72) with the aid of cider vinegar and, thanks to the longer cooking, is rich in minerals and in gelatin – but it’s also rich in ‘free glutamates’ – which cause problems for gut sensitive and gut compromised individuals.

Unless digestion is strong – and no other symptoms are evident – it’s better to start out with meat stock and transition to bone broth when the gut has healed sufficiently.

Either way, stocks and broths are nutritious, healing and the foundation for flavour. Auguste Escoffier said:

“Indeed, stock is everything in cooking. Without it, nothing can be done”.

If you’re making chicken meat stock as a gut healing remedy, it’s best to cook the bones from raw. Adding chicken feet (if you can prize them away from the Chinese) or a pig’s foot, will enrich the gelatin content of the stock or broth and it will gel up nicely.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

For Chicken Bone Broth:

All picked bones & whole feet*
Chicken bones: 1-2 kg*
White onion: 1 large (roughly chopped)
Carrots: 3-4 medium (peeled**, roughly chopped)
Celery: 3-4 sticks (roughly chopped)
Black peppercorns: 1 tbsp
Cloves: 6 whole
Garlic: 2 cloves (peeled, roughly bashed)
Parsley stalks: 1 handful
Filtered/ mineral water: enough to cover the bones by about 5cm Organic apple cider vinegar: 3 tbsp

For Chicken Meat Stock:

Chicken: 1 kg (whole/thighs + meaty backs/cooked carcass)
Whole chicken feet: 2-3 (optional, but packed with gelatin) OR 1 pig’s foot (optional, but packed with gelatin)
White onion: 1 large (roughly chopped)
Carrots: 3-4 medium (peeled**, roughly chopped)
Celery: 3-4 sticks (roughly chopped)
Black peppercorns: 1 tbsp
Cloves: 6 whole
Garlic: 2 cloves (peeled, roughly bashed)

Fresh ginger: 3-6 cm (peeled, thinly sliced)
Parsley stalks: 1⁄2 handful
Filtered/ mineral water: enough to cover the bones by about 5cm

WHAT TO DO: For chicken stock:

Put all the ingredients into a large stock pot, a large Dutch Oven, or a Slow Cooker.

Slowly bring up just to the boil and simmer VERY slowly. Depending on the size of your whole chicken (if using), cook on the stove top on a low heat (the stock should barley ‘blip’) or in a low oven for 2 – 4 hours; or for 8 about hours in a Slow Cooker (following the appropriate instructions for yours).

Let the stock cool down and carefully strain the contents of the pan through a colander. Leave any chicken feet or pigs feet intact and pick the meat off the other bones. Set aside the meat and the bones/intact feet separately.

Gently take out the vegetables and set aside. Sieve the strained liquid stock through a fine mesh strainer – it’s now ready to use.

Use the stock, meat and vegetables in a soup or recipe of your choice. If not using straight away, cool the stock to room temperature and transfer to convenient sized containers.

Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months. Any fat which rises to the top can be used with the stock or skimmed off.

If you’re going on to make Chicken Bone Broth, return the picked bones and any feet to the pan and proceed as below. If not, you can freeze them for a later batch of bone broth.

For Chicken Bone Broth:

Put all the ingredients into a large stock pot, a large Dutch Oven, or a Slow Cooker.

Slowly bring up just to the boil and simmer VERY slowly. Cook on the stove top on a low heat (the stock should barley ‘blip’); in a low oven; or a Slow Cooker for at least 48 and up to 72 hours (following the appropriate instructions for your Slow Cooker).

Follow the steps above for straining, sieving and storing your bone broth, discarding any solids.

RECIPE NOTES:

*All kinds of chicken bones make stock:

Raw bones and carcasses – cooked from raw.
For a richer flavour, roasted raw bone – roast uncovered for 20-30 mins.

Bones from carcasses saved from roast chicken (you can freeze them)
A mixture of both – the more the merrier!
If you’re making chicken broth as a gut healing remedy, it’s best to cook them from raw. Adding chicken feet or a pig’s foot, will enrich the gelatin content of the broth and it will gel up nicely.

**Carrot skins can make the broth bitter if long cooked.
**Use the larger quantity if you have no bones from the meat stock.