Frugal Food Thursday: Chicken Broth

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Frugal Food Thursday: Chicken Broth

Welcome to Frugal Food Thursday! If you have a great frugal recipe, please link up below!

Gotta love chicken broth! It seems odd posting a recipe for chicken broth, as I don't usually follow a recipe.

After I've roasted whole chickens for a Friday night dinner, and cleaned the carcass of any leftover meat, I put the carcass in a bag and put it in the freezer. Then, each month when I do freezer cooking, I'll pull it out of the freezer and defrost it and turn it into chicken broth!

One thing that I do a bit differently is that I cook my chicken broth in... a pasta pot! No, really. I put all the meat and veggies in the pasta colander part. Once the broth is cooked, I just pull out the colander and voila! all the solids are gone.

I'll use the vegetables that I happen to have. Usually, that's onions, celery tops, carrots, and parsley. If I have any other root vegetables, I'll throw those in as well.

And here's another tip, courtesy of The Tightwad Gazette - put in a tablespoon of white vinegar. It will break down the bones, adding calcium to the broth, but it won't change the taste of it.

Once the broth's done, I freeze it in quart-sized containers, or I turn some of the soup into chicken broth ice cubes, to be used later in sauces.

Chicken Broth

1-2 chicken carcasses
2 onions, paper removed, cut in quarters
3 ribs celery, cut in half, with celery leaves
2-3 carrots, sliced into 6-8 pieces
1 bunch parsley
2 bay leaves
8-10 cups water
1 tbsp white vinegar

Place chicken carcasses and vegetables in a large pasta pot with removable colander. Add water and white vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Skim excess fat and scum from the top. Turn down to low and simmer for 1.5-2 hours. Remove colander, then bring broth to a boil. Continue to boil until broth is reduced by 1/3 to 1/2. Allow broth to cool and skim fat from the surface. Add salt and pepper to taste.

There are lots more cheap recipes posted here at Frugal Follies. Click here for the list!

Got a great frugal recipe? Link below to your actual post, not your main page. Please only link up recipes and other food-related posts; contest entries and other posts are not allowed and will be deleted. I'd appreciate it if you would link back to Frugal Food Thursday as well!

For more great recipes, please check out the bloggers listed on the left sidebar under Food Linkups. There are lots of great recipes on each blog and I'm sure you'll find some new favorites!

29 comments:

a moderate life, February 17, 2011 at 2:08 AM: Hi Laura, I am linking up a great easy recipe for compound butter that makes butter taste way better! I love it on roasted poultry and it gives any cut a very rich flavor. All the best! Alex
Simone @ Doberman's by the Sea, February 17, 2011 at 10:16 AM: Sounds good. I just made some chicken soup yesterday. Have a good week.
Pat @ Elegantly, Gluten-Free, February 17, 2011 at 11:55 AM: Your chicken broth sounds lovely to have on the stove -- and in the 'fridge, too. My mom made it often and her soups were always the best! I never saw her freeze it as ice cubes, but I'll bet she would have if she saw your idea. So convenient for smaller recipe amounts!

My contribution this week is Lasagna with Spinach, which was my version of frugal comfort food during this cold week we've had. I'm glad to see our ice and snow are melting fast -- it's in 50's already this morning.

Thanks, and hugs --
Pat
Andrea (Andreas Kitchen), February 17, 2011 at 12:23 PM: Happy Thursday!
I am sharing my recipe for Cauliflower "Potato" Salad. It tastes like a "real" Potato Salad except it's all cauliflower so it's low carb.
Thanks for hosting!
Miz Helen, February 17, 2011 at 1:37 PM: A good Chicken Broth is a staple for my kitchen. I like to keep some in the freezer all the time. It makes all the difference in the quality of the outcome of the recipe. Your Chicken Broth recipe looks very good. Thank you so much for bringing it to Full Plate Thursday and please come back!
Allison {A Glimpse Inside}, February 17, 2011 at 2:49 PM: I will admit- I normally just buy my broth but maybe I will actually try this one time instead. I actually have a whole chicken to cook soon so maybe I'll keep it and try this while I'm at it. Thanks for linking up!
Gizelle, February 17, 2011 at 3:36 PM: I've never prepared chicken broth as extravagant as this :D Thank you! I will try this as my hubby loves noodles, this would be perfect for chicken and parsley garnishes...happy weekend!
Cheerful, February 17, 2011 at 8:50 PM: sounds great...and thanks for those tips! i didn't know about that white vinegar thing, until now, thanks for sharing! visiting you from food trip friday! happy weekend! :)

http://pinaymum.info/food-and-cuisine/food-trip-friday-013-mexican-three-bean-salad/
Ann Kroeker, February 17, 2011 at 9:56 PM: What a great idea! Too bad I don't have a pasta pot. Have any frugal suggestions for where to purchase one? I check Goodwill every time I'm there, but haven't found one yet.

Oh, and the vinegar thing, I'm going to try that, too. It totally fits with my daughter's science experiment last year. She made a perfectly good, solid bone all wobbly, like rubber, by soaking it overnight (maybe longer) in vinegar.

So glad you link to Food on Fridays!
Unknown, February 17, 2011 at 11:01 PM: @Ann - keep checking those thrift shops. Or maybe you have a friend who has one, but doesn't use it. (I rarely use mine for pasta - only for things like ravioli.) Perhaps you could figure out a trade, or just borrow it for when you need it.
a joyful noise, February 18, 2011 at 2:05 AM: I must try this. We usually throw out the carcass, but this is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
Bibi @ Bibi's Culinary Journey, February 18, 2011 at 10:54 AM: Chicken broth and vegetable broth are my go to ingredients for lots of my cooking. It give the food such an amazing flavor.
Run DMT, February 18, 2011 at 2:30 PM: I've never make my own broth because we always throw the chicken carcass out. I really should try to make some broth next time.
Noobfoodie, February 19, 2011 at 1:25 AM: thanks for the tips! para maiba naman lasa ng sopas ko! :-)
Unknown, February 19, 2011 at 10:14 AM: How clever! I too make my own chicken stock, but never thought of using my pasta pot. This is one of those tips that make you say "Now why didn't I think of that?". Thanks so much for sharing.

(I found you through the Finer Things Friday link-up)
Unknown, February 19, 2011 at 11:34 AM: Great tip to use a pasta pot!
Jay-agent112778, February 20, 2011 at 12:28 PM: nice dish, ill try that next time

heres my share for this weekend
Emily T. Thomas, February 21, 2011 at 1:29 PM: I always keep it in my freezer!
Blessings!
LIB
http://bit.ly/fRVt8Q
Kitty Deschanel, February 21, 2011 at 11:13 PM: I love to make my own chicken stock. So much healthier! Well, other than all the fat...
I like to simmer a HOT, dried pepper in mine, like the ones you see at Chinese restaurants.
PERMANENT POSIES, February 21, 2011 at 11:56 PM: I knew there was a reason to buy one of those pasta pots! I have to justify it, right? Anyway, I make my own broth too but this is an awesome idea!
Heather S-G, February 22, 2011 at 7:11 AM: That's ingenius...cooking your broth in a pasta pot....makes for great cleanup!
Leah Beyer, February 22, 2011 at 8:59 AM: This is so awesome. Why didn't we all think to cook it in a pasta pot?
Katherine, February 22, 2011 at 9:15 PM: This is really such a great idea! I will have to try this instead of letting it go to waste! Thanks so much for linking up!
Bylandersea, February 23, 2011 at 12:42 PM: Thanks for the tip about adding vinegar.
Unknown, February 23, 2011 at 8:46 PM: Never heard of adding the vinegar. That's a super idea.
Sweetened by Kagi, February 24, 2011 at 12:06 PM: Thanks for hosting such a fab linky party! I have included your link in my blog post :)
http://sweetenedbykagi.blogspot.com/

P.S: I am your newest follower; I hope you will follow me too :) I look forward to reading your blog posts in the future
Unknown, February 25, 2011 at 4:15 PM: what a great idea the vinegar addition is...i didn't know that! i love freshly made chicken stock..not only cost effective, but delicious. thank you for sharing with tuesday night supper club.
Unknown, February 25, 2011 at 10:49 PM: Thanks for the recipe, I have been looking for a new one to try.
Debbie @ Easy Natural Food, November 1, 2011 at 4:58 PM: Hi, that's a great idea to cook that stock in a pasta pot - I find straining it at the end is always messy. Thanks so much for sharing this with Sunday Night Soup Night. I'll be hosting weekly through fall and winter, so I'd love to see you again with your next soup/stock/chowder recipe!