Old-Fashioned Homemade Chicken Broth

Learn how to make this beautifully nourishing, old-fashioned homemade chicken broth from scratch.

Old-Fashioned & Easy

There’s nothing in the world quite like a steaming bowl of homemade chicken broth. Golden, savory, and full of nourishment, this old-fashioned tradition of extracting broth from bones and scraps of vegetables is simple and takes very little effort while it simmers away on a back burner.

I’ve been making my own broth for years. I don’t really use a recipe. It’s a basic bunch of stuff I throw into my pot that I allow to simmer for a few hours.

• Chicken or turkey carcass (mostly chicken unless it’s Thanksgiving)
• gallon freezer bag of carrot peelings, celery off-cuts, and onion skins and stubs that I save up over the course of 1-3 months
• water
• a couple bay leaves and other random herbs that I feel like

That’s it! I wanted to see if there was a wartime version of what I’ve been making without a recipe all these years. So, I grabbed the first cookbook within reach on my Hoosier which ended up being The Good Housekeeping Cook Book from 1944. And you know what? It pretty much had the exact same recipe! Haha!

A Vintage Classic with a Modern Update

There’s no reason to mess with a good thing when it’s worked for this long! But I did want to share with you my tips for making broth. My son enjoys drinking my broth plain, and to me, that’s the true test if it’s good or not. Of course, you can absolutely use this broth as the fabulous starter for any soup or stew or where ever broth is called for in a recipe. Let’s get started!

Tools You’ll Need

• a large sieve (not a strainer which isn’t fine enough to catch all the tiny bits)
• large pot (8 qt. minimum)
• a large bowl
• quart jars or freezer containers to store finished broth. I love Dutch Freeze brand. They don’t chip or break even when frozen.

Chicken Tips:

• A good old-fashioned homemade chicken broth starts with a whole chicken, skin on. I usually rub my raw chicken with salt, pepper, and a mixture of herbs like thyme and such with garlic thrown in there. It’s whatever you feel like. Remember, this is the start to your broth, because even the skin and juices are thrown into the water with the bones. If your chicken came with any organs, bake those with your chicken to throw in with the broth later.
• Once you’ve eaten your delicious roasted chicken dinner, debone the chicken after it’s cooled down. I’ve even stuck the chicken in the fridge and waited until the next day, but it is harder to remove the meat when it’s cold. Use the extra meat for another meal, but save those precious bones for your broth. If you can’t make it right away, keep them in your fridge for a few days, or in your freezer if you need a bit longer.

Veggie Tips:

• Choose one of two routes: save up scraps of carrot peels, celery off-cuts, and onion stumps & peels OR just use fresh carrots, onions, and celery. It doesn’t really matter.
• Sometimes when I’m short on any one type of veggie scrap, I toss in extra carrots, or chop up an onion to make up the difference. I also make it a habit to scour my veggie crisper drawers for any wilty celery or dried out carrots right before I make broth.
• No, I don’t use any other vegetables other than carrots, celery, and onion. I like the flavor profile and don’t want it changed by other vegetables. But you can experiment with this if you’d like! I wouldn’t recommend potatoes, though, because of their high starch content.

Making Old-Fashioned Homemade Chicken Broth:

• I use a large pot (mine is 8 qt.). I put the chicken bones in with all the skin, jellified juices, gristle, cooked organs like the heart, everything in there.
• Then I toss in my frozen and/or fresh veggie scraps.
• Next I add water. There’s no hard and fast rule to how much water to use when making broth. I just fill it up to the rivets of the handles which leaves about 1-2″ of headspace so there’s room for it to boil. (It comes to about 7 quarts in my pot.)
• Last, I add any extra herbs I want like a few bay leaves, parsley, and thyme. You could even add a clove or two of garlic or a teaspoon of peppercorns. It’s up to you! I don’t usually add salt, because I prefer to leave salting to when I’m making my end product like soup or stew with my broth. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar if you’d like to help draw extra goodness from the bones.
• Bring all of this to a boil with a lid on. Be careful not to let it boil over. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 2-3 hours. Some people like to simmer it longer. The longer you let it simmer, the more concentrated it becomes. When I use my homemade broth, I usually have to dilute it with some water to taste.

Straining & Storing the Broth

Once you’ve got your gorgeous, golden broth, now what?

• Let your broth cool. Using a large sieve, strain your broth into a large bowl or another pot. I recommend storing the large container of broth in the fridge to allow any fat to solidify. You can then remove the fat and then store the broth in smaller containers. I do get lazy, and many times just skip this step. (I always regret it though. Ha!)
• Once the fat is removed, store your broth in jars in your fridge, or in freezer containers in your freezer. My favorite freezer containers are Dutch Freeze brand. If you’re really feeling ambitious, you can pressure can your broth according to modern canning recommendations.

And now for an official-ish recipe! Feel free to experiment with it to find your favorite blend of flavors.

Old-Fashioned Homemade Chicken Broth Recipe

• 1 roast chicken carcass including bones, skin, juices, etc.
• 3 c. carrots peelings or 3 carrots, broken into large pieces
• 3 c. onion skins & stumps or 2 onions cut into large chunks, skins included
• 1-2 c. celery off-cuts or 2-3 celery stalks cut into large chunks, leaves included
• 1 Tbsp. parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. peppercorns or ground pepper
• 1 tsp. thyme or other herb to your taste
• minced or clove of garlic, if desired
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, if desired
• 7 quarts of water

Place the chicken bones, etc. into a large pot. Add the vegetable peelings or vegetables. Fill with water, making sure to leave 1-2″ headspace on the pot so it doesn’t boil over. Add the herbs and spices. Cover, heat to boiling. You might need to vent the lid so it doesn’t boil over. Lower heat and simmer on low for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Allow to broth to cool. Strain using a sieve into a large bowl or another pot. Cool in the fridge overnight. Skim the fat from the top and discard (or save for a fat salvage project.) Ladle the broth into quart jars to store in the fridge or into freezer container to store in the freezer. Broth in the fridge only keeps for a couple weeks. Broth in the freezer keeps for quite a few months. If you choose to pressure can your broth, follow your pressure canner’s directions.

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