Many great chefs and cooks agree- making your own stock makes all the difference in your food. This bone broth has great amounts of collagen and protein. Plus, it makes enough for you to freeze at least 3 quarts to save for later. Once you get everything in the pot – you don’t have to do much else.

What’s the difference between stock, broth, and bone broth? Simply put – stock is just bones. So since this recipe uses a whole chicken, it’s technically a broth. However, once the chicken meat is fully cooked, I take that out and put the bones back in. That’s what makes it a “bone broth” which is essentially a mix of the two.

Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken – ~ 3 lbs
2 Whole Carrots – washed (if you only have baby carrots for your kiddos, that’s fine too! Throw in what visually looks like about 1/2 the amount of onion you have)
2 Large White Onions, cut into quarters
2 Stalks of Celery (if you don’t have this – don’t let it stop you! The rinds from the oranges and lemon will provide some of the bitterness that celery does. If you don’t have those either, try 1-2 Tbsp Celery Seed)
1/2 Orange (cut in 1/2 again, rind and all)
1/2 Lemon (rind and all)
Bay Leaf
Thyme Sprigs
Head of Garlic (cut the pointy top half off to expose the garlic cloves, toss in both halves)
1 Stem of Rosemary

Save your scraps! Check out how celery, carrots, onions, garlic and herbs can be regrown from the roots you usually throw away!

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients in a large pot. Fill with cold water.

2. Place on stove on medium heat. Slowly bring to a boil. Once at a boil, turn heat to low and partially cover. Check back every so often to make sure it’s not bubbling too much (you want some, but too much will result in a cloudy stock).

3. 2 hours after the broth began boiling, remove the chicken. Use tongs to remove the meat from the bones and drop the bones back in the stock. Shred the meat and set aside for another use. Once all bones are back in the pot, continue cooking the broth on the lowest heat setting, partially covered, for another 3-4 hours. It should be barely bubbling and very aromatic.

4. Using a ladle skim off the fat layer (it will be a surprising amount – it’s normal). Strain into containers or another larger pot to then divy into containers for storage. Make sure to not cover them and place them in the fridge or freezer so that they cool to below 40° F within 6 hours. Once cool, place the tops on the containers and freeze whatever you won’t use right away. It’s best to let thaw overnight in the fridge, but you can also thaw in a pot if you’re in a bind.