How to Make Homemade Chicken Broth with Raw Chicken Pieces
A homemade chicken broth that uses raw chicken pieces instead of a cooked chicken carcass.
Also Read: Homemade Vegetable Soup Stock, What You Need to Know When Making Soup, How to Make Stock from Cooked Chicken, How to Make Ham Bone Stock
You can make this broth in under two hours by browning the meat and sweating the veggies before you add water. Or, you can use a more leisurely approach and toss all the raw ingredients in a pot or slow cooker and let it simmer for 3 to 12 hours.
If you have a chicken carcass or trimmed bones, check out my recipe for Homemade Chicken Stock instead.
Continue reading after the recipe for comments on the difference between stock and broth and how to get more flavorful broth or stock.
Recipe for Chicken Broth from Raw Chicken Pieces
Chicken Broth from Raw Chicken Pieces
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken leg quarters backs or wings
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 medium onion cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 carrot cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 celery ribs cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 whole black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves whole
- 8 cups cold water
Instructions
- Chop chicken into 2 inch pieces. Use a cleaver to chop through bone, not your favorite knife!
- In a large, heavy pot, heat canola oil over medium high heat. Chopping the bones allows more flavor, nutrients and collagen to be drawn out.
- Add chicken pieces to cover bottom and lightly brown on all sides about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove finished pieces and repeat in several batches. Remove all chicken pieces from pan.
- Add chopped onions, carrots and celery. Cook until onions are translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Return chicken pieces to pot, cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
- Add salt, pepper, bay leaves and cold water. Bring to boil then reduce heat to low, cover with lid partially askew and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until broth is rich and flavorful.
- Remove from heat and strain through fine mesh sieve.
- When cool, remove meat from bones to use in various recipes. Discard bones and cooked veggies.
- If using right away, let broth cool for 5 to 10 minutes then skim off any foam and fat.
- If saving, cool quickly with ice wand, cold water bath or by separating into smaller containers.
- Once cool, cover and place in fridge overnight. Remove layer of fat before using.
- Store finished broth in fridge for up to 4 days or freeze in convenient sizes for up to 6 months.
- Makes: ~ 8 cups broth
Notes
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Difference Between Chicken Broth and Chicken Stock
I am not one to get hung up on words and will often use the term broth and stock interchangeably. However, when teaching how to make soup courses, I’m often asked “What’s the difference between broth and stock?”
Really, the difference is minute and does not matter for most home cooks. It’s okay to use broth and stock interchangeably.
Both are water simmered with herbs, spices, veggies and bones with meat (unless of course it’s veggie or fish based). It is the amount of meat and bones that distinguishes broth and stock. Generally speaking, broth is made with more meat than bones while stock is made with more bones than meat.
So if you’re using something like a chicken carcass and some bones that have been trimmed of their meat – you’re making stock. If you’re using pieces of meat with the bone attached, like in this recipe – you’re making broth.
But what is Bone Broth? Not to burst any bubbles, but bone broth is really just a trendy name for stock. Confusing, I know. But a recipe that features mostly bones simmered in water is stock, even if the bones are blanched, roasted and simmered for 20 hours – it’s still stock!
Getting More Flavorful Broth or Stock
Another common question is how to get more flavorful broth or stock. Here are a few ideas:
- Don’t skimp on bones, meat and aromatics. One deli counter chicken carcass is only enough to flavor about 2 cups of water. Either store it in the freezer until you’ve collected a few or add some raw pieces of meat to your stock making (eg. wings, legs, thighs, etc).
- Start with a good ratio of water to flavor ingredients. Place all of your veggies, bones, and herbs in a pot and cover with just enough cold water to cover by no more than 2 cm or just under an inch.
- Chop bones to release more flavor, nutrients and collagen (which turns into gelatin).
- Roast bones to add flavor and deepen the color of stock.
- Use boney pieces of meat (wings, thighs, legs, backs, etc.) in addition to leftover cooked carcasses.
And, to get more gelatin forming, simmer for long time, add more connective tissue (joints, tendons, feet, etc.).
More Recipes
Now that you have some delicious broth, try some of these recipes!
- Classic Chicken Noodle Soup
- Lentil Soup – Vegan or with Bacon
- Chicken Corn Chowder
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Lightened Up Mushroom Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Beef and Barley Soup
- Leek and Potato Soup
- Vegetable Hamburger Soup
- Chicken Stock – made with cooked chicken carcass
- No Knead Bread – the perfect partner for soup
I’d love to hear your comment or see your results when you try this recipe. Please leave a comment or take a photo and tag #getgettys so I can see it and like it!
Sign up to get articles by Getty delivered to your inbox. You’ll get recipes, practical tips and great food information like this. Getty is a Professional Home Economist, speaker and writer putting good food on tables and agendas. She is the author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener.