Basic Chicken Broth

This chicken broth is one of the most commonly made things in my kitchen. Chicken broth is often used in sauces, pasta dishes, soups and so much more: and it yields shredded chicken that can be used in so many different ways, like my Chicken and Bell Pepper Pate.

I hope you like my simple version of chicken broth, and remember- use any chicken you may have on hand! Chicken drumsticks or skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs are less expensive to buy and make for such a yummy broth. Enjoy!

Basic Chicken Broth

Yields about 3 1/2 Liters of Broth

Ingredients:

Approx. 3 lbs chicken (any part of chicken as long as it's skin on, bone in)

4 Liters (about 16 cups) filtered water

1 Tablespoon whole peppercorns

3 bay leaves

1 whole onion, roughly chopped

2-3 whole sprigs of fresh oregano

Handful of parsley stems*

3 tablespoons salt

Directions:

1. Rinse chicken and add to your largest pot. Add 4 liters of water, peppercorns, bay leaves, chopped onion, fresh oregano sprigs, and parsley stems*.

2. Bring to a boil on high heat, then reduce to a simmer and allow to simmer for about an hour (until the chicken lifts easily off of the bone).

3. With tongs or a large slotted spoon, remove the chicken and set aside. Pour the broth through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl or another pot. Taste for seasoning and add salt as desired. Discard all remnants and rinse the sieve. Prepare jars to fill with broth by cleaning well, then carefully divide the broth into the jars again through the fine mesh sieve. Keep refrigerated.

4. Remove all meat from the bone, discard bone and skin of chicken. Find delicious use for the chicken, like pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches or chicken noodle soup! Enjoy.

* You may throw in the entire parsley sprig into the pot; however I like to reserve the parsley leaves and use them for something else. The parsley stems have plenty of flavor.