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How to Make Homemade Chicken Broth From Scraps

Chef Danielle Miele , On February 3, 2023

Mealpro
Chicken Broth is Made Using Whole Pieces of Chicken While. Chicken Stock Uses Chicken Bones

How to Make Chicken Broth at Home From Scraps

The three basic broths are vegetable broth, beef broth, and chicken broth. This is not to be confused with beef and chicken stock since broth uses whole pieces of meat while stock uses the bones:

Definition: Beef or chicken broth is made using whole chunks of meat while beef or chicken stock is made extracting flavors from the bones. Therefore, broth has a deeper, richer taste than stock.

This chicken broth recipe uses chicken meat scraps and vegetable scraps to make a delectable chicken broth you can easily make at home! I also call this chicken broth “the nectar of the Gods” – Well, not really, but close since the full chunks of meat give this a very distinct flavor. Don’t believe me? Try for yourself and experience what can happen when you take your food scraps, chicken pieces, and vegetable scraps, and simmer them together with water, the result is magic.

How to Make Chicken Broth Video

Kitchen Equipment Needed to Make Your Own Chicken Broth from scraps recipe:

  • Pot

  • Knife & cutting board (you will only rough chop for broth)

  • Spoon

  • Tongs

  • Fine mesh strainer

Ingredients Needed to Make Your Own Chicken Broth from Scraps:

Ingredients for chicken broth recipe from scraps

Ingredients to Make Chicken Broth

  • Chicken scraps (skin, bones, even chicken wings are great to make a broth in a pinch)

  • Onion pieces or 1 large onion chopped into large chunks

  • Carrot peels, ends, greens or 2-4 large carrots chopped into chunks

  • Celery, 4 stalks chopped into large chunks

  • Herbs (parsley, bay leaf, thyme)

  • Garlic cloves, smashed

  • 8 Cups cold water

  • Other vegetable scraps that are excellent to make a chicken broth include: leeks, mushrooms (especially the stems), tomatoes, scallions and herb stalks. We had rosemary today, so I added a fresh sprig. Feel free to add herbs like sage, marjoram, oregano from your garden or pantry according to what you have on hand, and to your taste.

Instructions to Make Your Own Chicken Broth From Scraps:

  1. Rinse your chicken and vegetable scraps and/or cuttings. Place into your stock pot. Add your herbs and seasonings.

    Broth from scraps

    Add chicken and veggie scraps to the broth

  2. Pour cold water into the pot, leaving a few inches of space at the top. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.

  3. Reduce to medium and simmer for at least an hour. You can simmer the chicken broth for up to 3 hours.

    Broth from scraps

    Remove the foam at the top and discard or strain through a fine mesh strainer

    Note: As the chicken broth simmers, impurities will float to the top in the form of a foam. Using a spoon, remove the foam and discard.

  4. Once completed, remove from the heat. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables and chicken.

  5. Pour the cooled broth through a wire mesh strainer. Use right away or store for up to a week in the fridge in an air-tight container or jar.

Chicken Broth Summary

Homemade chicken broth from scraps is healthy, healing, and such a welcome addition to your kitchen. Home chefs need not be intimidated. This recipe is tailored to you. Making your own chicken broth from scraps is simple. It takes a bit of time and patience but simmering a pot on the stove for a few hours while you do other things is easy. When you make your own, it’s a wonderful way to reduce your kitchen waste. Many home cooks set aside their vegetable scraps each time they cook which saves on food costs and is a wonderful way to help the planet, reducing carbon emissions from our landfills. Get in the habit of putting veggie peels and skins in a storage bag or container in the freezer. Use these whole chunks of meat scraps to make chicken broth recipe once a week. You can store your chicken broth in the fridge or even in the freezer to make sauces or soups at a later time. For extra flavor, I sometimes cook pasta, rice or potatoes in chicken broth instead of water – this adds taste and delicious nutrients to your end product. Overall, making your own chicken broth recipe at home from scraps is a wonderful way to save some cash while infusing extra flavor and nutrition into your diet plan.

Chef Danielle Miele

Chef Miele started in the industry as a chef's assistant back in the early 1990s at a New England style seafood shack. After several stints in the industry she earned a formal chef's degree with honors from Le Cordon Bleu. When she is not cooking for her husband and teenage son, she enjoys researching techniques and ingredients from different cultures, with a focus on enhanced flavor and nutrition.