Homemade Chicken Broth
I was inspired recently by a post from Cheap, Healthy, Good which linked to this article which linked to this article. Don’t you just love web surfing? Anyhow, I have wanted to try this whole rubber chicken thing that I’ve heard about and seen blogged about all over the internet for quite some time now but I will admit, whole chicken’s scare me. I will do it one of these days though. I will conquer my fear!!
But, that is not what this post is about. What I really want to write about is homemade chicken broth. I don’t use it all that often but when I do I’m annoyed at the cost of it and am also not too happy about what is possibly in that can of broth. So, after reading some and thinking about it, I decided to start saving my leftover cut up vegetable pieces and parts. I have a gallon size freezer bag about full sitting in the freezer just waiting for me to get brave enough to buy that scary whole chicken and cook it up. Right now that bag contains red onion paper/skin and ends, celery stalks/leafy parts and ends and well, I think that is pretty much it. Oh, I did throw some green onion ends and tips in there yesterday. I had basil but wasn’t sure if that would make my stock bitter. I read that online somewhere. Who knows if it is true. I also threw out my cilantro (poor, sad, mushy and never got around to be enjoyed) because I wasn’t sure if it was okay to put in stock either.
What I would love to know is if one of my very smart readers knows what vegetables are okay and which are not okay to save for stock. Or is there a comprehensive list somewhere on the internet? Also, any other tips on how to actually do this and what spices I should add (if any.) Just maybe, with the help of my readers, I can finally make my own stock and no longer fear the whole chicken beast.
Edited to add on 6/3/10: I DID IT!!! Now I have tons of stock and am freezing them (this part is taking awhile because I only have 2 trays) in 1/4 cups in ice cube trays so when I need some broth, I’ll just take out how many cubes I need, defrost and voila! So happy I tried this!