Waste Not, Want Not: Making a Beautiful Chicken Broth

Look at what I just made...from GARBAGE!! I hate to waste food, which is why soups and broths are pretty much my favourite thing to cook. I never throw away a chicken carcass, especially one from a deliciously flavoured roasted chicken. Mmmmmm. I made up this bone broth last night after I carved our chicken chicken dinner. I quite literally threw the carcass (garbage) into my slowcooker with the drippings from the meat...I was in a rush, I had no time for gravy. Rush or not, I had time for a chicken broth. 

To the slow cooker, I added this bag of garbage...

I kid you not, garbage. I keep all of my veggie ends in a bag in the fridge. If you look closely you'll see, lots of carrot shrapnel, zucchini ends, bits of mushroom, broccoli, tomato stems and partial onions. I make soup a few times a week, so I've never worried about these vegetable bits going bad, I simply throw them back into the fridge instead of into the garbage. There is still so much nutrition in these veggies, they can't help it if they didn't make the dinner cut! They sure can be showcased in a delicious broth. 

After all of my garbage is loaded into my slow cooker, I top it up with water, I add garlic, ginger, a couple of seaweed sheets, about two table spooons of apple cider vinegar and an onion.   I can never resist a few bay leaves, a bit of sea salt and some delicious tarragon or some herbs de provence. I turn the slow cooker onto low and leave it happily cooking all night. When we awake, the house smells heavenly. I leave it cooking for the rest of the day or turn it warm. As I prepare dinner that evening, I strain off the broth. 

 

Now those veggies are actually garbage. If I'm making a soup right away, I'll pick some of the meat off of the carcass. If not, I toss it, most of the flavour has been absorbed into the broth. Tonight I'm tossing it! I'm on a cleanse, no chicken soup for me!!  My beautiful broth is going to cool at room temperature and find its way into the freezer. I'll use it later in recipes, soup, rice dishes, you name it! 

Can we just admire the colour of this beautiful broth? 

 

Thanks for reading!!  If you have any questions or you just liked this Big Idea, please feel free to comment below!!

Bone Broth: Benefits. Least of which: Beef and Barley Soup

 

 

I must heal!!  I have a dreadful head cold.  A bone broth soup should do the trick!!  I had some delicious leftover prime rib, so I'm using the rib bones to make a bone broth. 

There are many benefits to consuming bone broth. For me, it was just how I learned to make soup. I honestly, didn't even consider dumping a container of store bought broth into a pot! Thanks Mom for teaching me such a healthy way to make soup!! I had no idea I was building my immune system with each delicious slurp. A bone broth is loaded with minerals. In fact, it's now considered a super food, because it's so loaded with healing compounds. A bone broth contains collagen, which heals your gut lining and reduces intestinal inflammation. It has high levels of glycine, which promotes a restful sleep. It is filled with phosphorus and magnesium; minerals which seep out of the bones into the broth. These compounds are fantastic for your bones and joints. Basically if you are sick, a bone broth soup will build you back up!

The trick to a good bone broth is time. The longer you leave it, the more nutrients and minerals it will possess. I have left a chicken carcass in the slow cooker for up to 24 hours. Just boiling away with some veggies!!! Today my rib bones are stewing on the stove for 6 hours. That's pretty much a minimum for a bone broth, but I want soup for dinner!

 

When prepping a broth, fry up some veggies and bones in some olive oil, along with your favourite seasonings. Pepper, basil, garlic, bay leaves, salt, thyme. Really go crazy...if you love it, add it to the broth. 

 

Add water to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue boiling for a minimum of 6 hours. Watch your water level and top off, if need be. 

When you're ready to take your bone broth off of the stove, you've got options!! You can cool it and keep it in the fridge; up to 5 days or freeze it for a later date. Today, I'm making beef and barley soup. 

 

 

The trick to a good soup is adding the ingredients, according to their cooking time and chopping the individual ingredients in an uniform manner. 

Barley first!!!  Be sure to rinse your barley. I'm adding half a cup! I put my thyme in on the first addition. Often, it cooks off of the stocks of the plant. The stocks can be removed later. 

I had to top up my soup stock with water so I added 1/2 tsp of knorr powdered beef broth. Add this sparingly, this stuff goes a long way!!  Also, I shook in 1/2 a tsp of of tarragon, I love this flavour with beef. 

After the barley has simmered for 15 minutes, add potatoes and carrots. Leave the pot simmering with the lid on for an additional 15 minutes.   Take this opportunity to pick the meat from the cooled bones. Soup is truly an economical food. Made from ingredients that you have on hand and some that you might otherwise throw away. Add the meat to your pot. Though this meat is a little less flavourful than your reserved protein; it will increase the heartiness of your soup. After 15 minutes have passed, check your veggies and barley for doneness. Mine were perfect and the thyme had floated off of its stocks; which I removed from the soup. 

Add your zucchini and beef, simmer for 5 more minutes. When this step is complete, remove from the burner, add 1/2 a cup of frozen peas, stir and serve yourself a bowl. I'm adding sriracha to my bowl tonight!!  I have some congestion to clear!  Also, I'm enjoying my soup with a slice of Beefy Yorkshire Pudding. 

Thanks for reading!!  If you have any questions or you just liked this Big Idea feel free to comment below!