Killing Two Birds with One Stone...or Homemade Chicken Broth

Whole chickens were on sale at Brookshires!! (Insert happy dance)
This is a big deal at my house. Because I use chicken in a lot of my recipes, and I use chicken broth in a lot of my recipes. So here's where the "two birds with one stone" comes in.....or one bird with two stones....however you want to look at it.
When whole chickens are on sale, I stock up. I then roast a whole chicken, debone it, freeze the meat or refrigerate it to use over the next few days, and make chicken stock with the carcass in my crock pot!
Here's how I do it:
First of all, prepare your chicken for roasting. I clean the liver and "things" out of the cavity and place it in my roasting pan (or you could always just roast it in the crock pot).
                                                    Brush the breast with olive oil.

Give it a few grinds of black pepper.

Put a little unsalted butter in the cavity. 

Pour a little water in the bottom of the pan and sprinkle some peppercorns around.

Then cover and roast in the oven at 350 degrees until the juices run clear and there's no pink near the bone.

When it's done, it'll look like a hot mess.

Next, let it cool and then pull the meat from the bone to refrigerate or freeze.  I always leave a little meat on the bone.

Now, to make the broth.....

I use a slow-cooker liner (makes clean up so much easier). Place your carcass and all the juices in the crock pot, along with: a couple of carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 onion, 4 garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf, a few more peppercorns, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar (this helps extract nutrients from the bones) and 8 to 10 cups of water.

Cover and cook on low for 24 hours. Your kitchen will smell heavenly. 

After the time is up, allow the mixture to cool a little, then strain it and discard the solids.

I strain mine into a large pitcher. I place the lid on and refrigerate it overnight to allow the broth to cool completely. You can keep it in the fridge if your'e going to use it within 2 to 3 days. I always freeze mine in gallon size baggies. I pour 2 cups in each bag, seal, and lay flat on a baking sheet to freeze. 

You'll never go back to store bought broth again!

(Stay tuned.....I'll be making beef broth soon!!)