Chicken Bone Broth

What’s one of the healthiest things you can ever make? Bone broth. And Pete explores it to the fullest. From Chicken Soup with naturopath Anthia Koullouros, to Katsuo Dashi with San Francisco’s Cortney Burns, to Wes Carr and Charlotte Gregg’s Baby Liver Paté. Guests include Sally Fallon from the Weston Price Foundation.

Tip

Farm-raised, free-range chickens give the best results. Many battery-raised chickens will not produce broth that sets.

Makes 3.5 litres

Ingredients

  • 1–1.4 kg bony chicken parts (such as necks, backs, breastbones and wings
  • 2–4 chicken feet (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
  • 2 leeks, white part only, rinsed well and roughly chopped
  • 1 garlic bulb, cut in half horizontally
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, lightly crushed
  • 2 large handfuls of flat-leaf parsley stalks

Method

  1. Place the chicken pieces in a stockpot or large saucepan, add
5 litres of cold water, the vinegar, onion, carrot, celery, leek, garlic and peppercorns and let stand for 1 hour to help draw out the nutrients from the bones.
  2. Place the stockpot or pan over medium–high heat and bring to the boil, skimming off the skin that forms on the surface of the liquid. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 12–24 hours. The longer you cook the broth the richer and more flavourful it will be. About 10 minutes before the broth is ready, add the parsley.
  3. Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a large storage container, cover and place in your refrigerator until the fat rises
to the top and congeals. Skim off this fat and store the broth in airtight containers in your refrigerator or freezer. The broth can be stored in the refrigerator for 3–4 days or frozen for up to
3 months.