Chicken Bone Broth

Sometimes referred to as "liquid gold," homemade bone broth is rich in minerals, vitamins, and collagen. Collagen is immune boosting, gut healing, and is also known for beautifying our skin too!!

When I make bone broth, I like to use a whole organic chicken - so in addition to the broth, I end up with a bunch of delicious slow cooked chicken meat too.

This is an easy way to make it, and takes less than 4 hours (you can cook your bones longer, but I find this is just perfect). Some people with histamine issues do better with shorter cooked bone broths. I find that this amount of cook time still develops lots of collagen and flavor.

Sometimes, I will skim off the fat the next day and store in in a glass jar (it will rise to the top & harden in the fridge), which can be refrigerated and used for cooking).

Equipment: You will need a large stockpot (I use a 6 quart size Le Crueset), a fine strainer, I like to store it in a 2 quart glass jar as well.

Ingredients:

1 whole organic chicken (can be cut into pieces if necessary to fit into pot)
3-4 carrots (peeled and cut into 3 inch pieces)
4 celery stalks, rinsed and cut into 3 inch pieces)
6-7 springs of parsley
1 small onion, or half a large onion cut into 5-6 chunks
1-2 bay leaves
5-10 whole peppercorns
1 Tablespoon of Real Salt (use a little less if you use less than 20 cups of water)
2 Tablespoons of Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (helps to draw the collagen from the bones)
approximately 20 cups of filtered water (depending on how large your pot is)

Directions: Note: cook times are approximate - they will vary slightly depending on how large your chicken is if it is cut into parts (will cook faster), and how high your simmer is (lower simmer will cook slower). Adjust as needed. If you want to make sure your chicken is done - you could use a thermometer.

Thoroughly rinse your chicken under cool running water (I try to clean the inside out a bit to make sure there are no remnants of organs in there).
Put the whole chicken into your pot (If your pot is smaller, you can cut your chicken into parts, or buy it already cut into parts).
Add the water (I use 20 cups, your chicken should be mostly covered).
Add all the other ingredients in the pot, and then put it on the stove on high heat.
As soon as it comes to a boil, you can turn the heat down to medium or medium-low and cover with the lid slightly askew (to allow a little air). I usually check it to make sure it is simmering/bubbling.
I simmer for about 75 - 90 mins, and then turn the chicken over using tongs. Cover with lid askew again.
Simmer another 75 minutes and turn over the chicken again using tongs (if it falls apart - that is a sign that it is probably done). If it doesn't fall apart/look done, cook it another 30-45 mins on a low simmer. The chicken should be "falling off the bone."
When the chicken is done - take it out of the pot and put it into a large dish to allow to cool for a few mins. I also take the carrots out at this point - cause I like to eat them (yum!)
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, I shred the meat, remove the bones and return the bones to the pot. You can take out the other veggies (celery and onion) at this point, or leave it in the pot. Return broth with bones to a simmer and cook with the bones another 30-90 mins. This last step is optional, your broth is done without it - this just extracts more collagen and makes a richer broth.
Put the shredded chicken meat into a covered glass container and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, or it can be stored in the freezer for a month.
When the broth is done, turn off the heat and take it off the burner - allow it to cool enough to pour into a glass container safely.
Store broth in refrigerator up to 3 days, or freezer up to 1 month.