Update ~ Chicken Broth Questions/Answers

This post comes as a result of the questions left in the
comments section on yesterday's post.

If you do not have the ability to watch video on your computer,
the tutorial link I gave will not be helpful!
So, here in a nutshell are the instructions for the way I make broth.

~ Camille’s Chicken Broth ~

I get a 4 or 5 pound organic bird and I roast it
(I actually cook two of them) and we eat "roast chicken dinner"
the first night.

Then I strip off all the meat and put it in the fridge for the soup making day.
The carcass and skin and bones all get refrigerated until the next morning.
In the morning I take the carcass (skin, bones and all),
and put them in my stock pot.
I pour cold water to cover so that everything is under
the water by about an inch or so.
~ If you need to, you can add ice cubes to make it really cold,
because it's going to sit out for awhile.
I pour in a few tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar
and let it sit covered on the stove without the
heat for at least an hour.
(Apparently, this draws the calcium out of the bones).

After the hour is past,
roughly chop two large carrots,
a large onion and two or three stalk of celery.
(I use more for two chickens).
Add them into the pot.
Turn the heat on high and bring to a boil.
Skim off the foam that rises to the top.
Turn down the heat to keep at a very very gentle simmer...
barely, but still slowly simmering.
Continue to skim off foam until it is clear.

Now cover your pot with the lid cracked a bit to
allow steam to escape ~ Very Important.

Let simmer like this all day...
try for 12 hours.

At the end of the simmering time you can plunge a
whole head of parsley into the mix and let sit for a few minutes.
This adds more nutrients to your broth.

Strain all the chunks out through a fine mesh strainer and discard.
If you want really clear broth, use cheese cloth to line your strainer.
At this point many people "clarify" the broth by letting it cool
overnight in the fridge and then skim off the layer
of fat that rises to the top.
With the organic chickens I don't find there is much fat
(especially since I make the stock from a previously roasted bird),
and a little fat adds to the flavour.
I don't do this step, but you can ~ it's a personal choice.

Your stock is ready to be used!
I make soups like normal,
but this stock is not salty,
so more salt would be required than "normal"
if you are used to using cubes or powdered "stock".

For my friend at "Wanting What I Have" (and anyone else, including me)
who are wondering about canning broth ~
I asked my friend Christa, and this is what she kindly shared with me.
**Obviously, you will want to be safe while doing such a thing,
so researching it out is a good idea!
Here was her answer ~

"I process my chicken stock in a pressure canner for 25 minutes
at 10 pounds of pressure.
You CANNOT process chicken broth or stock in a water bath canner."

Thank you Christa for helping us out here! :)

Any other questions?
I do hope you all give it a try...it is SO good!
AND so good for you!

Blessings,
Camille