The longer you simmer, the richer the broth. You can enjoy it as is or use it as a base for many different recipes. Once you’ve made this amazingly flavorful broth from scratch, you won’t be able to ever go back to the canned version, except as a base for other recipes. There’s no comparison! The best part? This recipe is so easy. You simply dump a few ingredients into a large pot, fill it with water, and turn on the heat. A few hours later, enjoy a cup of a rich, warm, comforting broth!
Recipe Card
Fresh chicken: For the richest and most flavorful broth, use bone-in and skin-on chicken pieces and dark meat. I often use chicken drumsticks or chicken thighs. Vegetables and herbs: Onion, garlic cloves, carrots, celery, and parsley. Kosher salt and whole black peppercorns: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.
These variations produce a broth that tastes quite different from my childhood broth, but they are a nice variation on the classic recipe. Place the chicken in a large stockpot. As you can see, I often use chicken drumsticks. Add the vegetables, herbs, salt, and pepper. Cover the ingredients with water. Remove the solids from the broth with a large slotted spoon, then strain it using a colander. Here’s the broth after being strained:
Skimming the Fat
This is what the broth looks like when it’s ready. You can see the fat droplets on its surface: Many people remove this fat. I don’t. It’s delicious. If you want to remove it and do it efficiently, it’s best to chill the soup first. Once chilled, you can easily remove the congealed fat layer from the top. Here are my refrigerated jars of broth. You can see the fat layer on top. It’s easy to remove with a spoon. My Israeli grandma used to serve hers with egg noodles: Or matzo balls: My Dutch grandma served it with tiny cooked meatballs and no starches or veggies. My father loads his with cooked shredded chicken and lots of vegetables. And my mother-in-law serves hers with cooked white rice. Want more ideas? Add plain cooked shirataki noodles (omit the butter and Parmesan) or zucchini noodles (add them raw, and they will cook in the hot broth). You can also turn this chicken broth into egg drop soup.
