Chicken Broth

Information

Notes

This is the way I make chicken broth—with a whole chicken cut into pieces. These pieces are plucked out and recycled into any number of chicken dishes. I end up with richly flavored chicken for whatever dish I’ve chosen to make, enough wonderful broth to use in that same dish, and a bonus of broth for the fridge or freezer for future use. .

Directions

1. Place the chicken, onions, and red pepper in a large stockpot. (Mine is 16 quarts.) Rinse the garlic head in cold water and then peel off the papery skin. Break up the garlic into individual cloves. Rinse and cut the roots off the cilantro. Cut a piece of cheesecloth the size of a kitchen towel. Put the garlic cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves, and cilantro on the cheesecloth, bring the ends together to make a little pouch, and tie the whole thing up loosely with kitchen twine. Give the pouch a few good whacks with a kitchen mallet and add it to the pot.

2. Add enough cold water to cover the chicken by at least 2 to 3 inches. Drop in the ham hock if using. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, skimming foam off the top as it forms. When the water comes to a boil, adjust the heat so the broth cooks at a steady but not rolling boil. Cook for 30 minutes.

3. Check to make sure the breasts are cooked through and then remove them from the pot. Cook 15 minutes more, remove the legs and thighs, and set aside to make another chicken dish. If you’re using backs, necks, wings, etc., you don’t have to remove anything. Leave them in to further flavor the broth.

4. Cook for 1 hour. Set a strainer over a large bowl and line the strainer with a couple of layers of cheesecloth. Carefully strain the broth through the cheesecloth. (Ladling it is the easiest and safest way.) Add salt to taste.