It all seems pretty easy, right? Mix the veggie scraps and chicken bones in this gorgeous pot, add water, boil, and strain? Except I’ve botched it more times than I care to remember. Last Friday, I nailed it. 🎯 So without further ado, three lessons in making chicken broth so you can learn from my mistakes.
This is low-stress chicken broth. I know some people get fancy about straining more precisely. Not necessary for how we use it, but do what works best for you.
strain with a colander over a bowl | I’ve strained the chicken broth into a colander right into my sink and down the drain. I wish I was lying. 🤦🏻♀️
don’t overfill the jars if you plan to freeze them | The rounded part near the top of the jar is called the shoulder. Don’t fill past the shoulder because the broth will expand when it freezes (thank you, water for your odd scientific properties that cause you to expand instead of shrink when you get cold. We love you despite your backward ways). 🙃 Reused pasta jars are the best for storing your chicken broth!
compost the food scraps after boiling | Even though they’re cooked, food scraps can go in the compost bin. Yes… even the bones (depending on your composting method). Bones might not be great for an electric compost bin (like this one that I think is great), but they can go into an industrial composting system and will be ok buried in a backyard bin so long as they are well-covered… so they don’t attract curious wildlife.