My Fowl Broth Story

Looking for an alternative to MSG laden broths, I began making broth on a regular basis. I also began making turkey broth from carcasses after Thanksgiving and Christmas (including begging the ones from the big family gatherings).

We are a fairly large family, and generally, one chicken just doesn't cut it. So my favorite thing to do now is buy four chickens at a time, cut out the breasts and quarters, and use the rest for broth.

I never make broth on the stove anymore unless it is for a special chicken soup recipe that I have. We have an electric roaster, so making broth could not be easier. I just throw all the chickens in the roaster, add veggies, vinegar, and peppercorns, and water of course, and turn it on. Usually I leave it overnight because it is just easier than cutting up four chickens, grilling part of them for one meal, and then going through the broth all in one day. I usually start my broth at 350 and turn it down to 250 overnight.

Sometimes we keep the roaster in the garage, too, so it's not in the way.

Can you imagine how wonderful the house smells in the morning? Ahh.

It can get tricky if the roaster is in the garage. I just do some of the straining out there and then get the big, strong man in the house to carry the roaster for me.

Anyway, after cooling it a bit, I strain it, remove bones and veggies, and sort the meat. I usually get 3 1/2 to 4 cups of meat out of this process, enough for a recipe of gumbo.

This is another post for the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods at Kitchen Stewarship.